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More than $205m (�103m) were found in the Mexico City safe house, as well as guns and drugs.

Seven people were arrested. They are accused of illegally importing chemicals to make methamphetamines.

The total recovered in similar raids in 2006 was about $53m. The government has vowed to crack down on the drug cartels which are terrorising parts of Mexico.

Imports from India

The dollars were found hidden in walls, suitcases and cupboards in a mansion in an upmarket district of Mexico City, together with smaller amounts of euros and Mexican pesos.

Eight cars, seven weapons and machinery for making tablets were also seized.

Prosecutors said the raid was part of an investigation into a pharmaceutical company suspected of importing chemicals to make the drugs from India.

The investigation began with the seizure of 19.5 metric tons of pseudoephedrine in the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas, they said.

Correspondents say Mexico has become one of the largest producers of methamphetamine since a crackdown on laboratories in the US.

Methamphetamine is a chemical variant of amphetamine with much more powerful effects. Abuse is particularly bad in rural areas in the US.