Washington — Federal prosecutors have indicted four China-based companies and eight Chinese nationals for allegedly supplying fentanyl precursor chemicals for the purpose of making a deadly drug distributed in the United States, the Justice Department said. announced on Friday.
Investigative officials said across the three unsealed indictments in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York State, the Drug Enforcement Administration has released more than 200 kilograms of precursor chemicals, equivalent to the deaths of 25 million Americans. said to have been seized.
The indictment is the first indictment brought by federal prosecutors against a company in the People’s Republic of China involved in the manufacture and distribution of the ingredients that make up fentanyl, according to the Justice Department.
“We are targeting every step of the movement, manufacture and sale of fentanyl from start to finish,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in announcing the charges.
DEA agents carried out a covert operation against Amarvel Biotech, a chemical manufacturing company based in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. According to the Southern District of New York indictment, company executives advertised their products to Mexican fentanyl manufacturers by posting “Mexico’s Hot Sale” online and guaranteeing “100% stealth” international shipments. In this case, investigators said DEA officials communicated by recorded conversation and asked the company to ship the chemicals directly to the United States.
“Although defendants believed that Americans died after ingesting fentanyl produced from a precursor chemical, defendants explicitly stated that the chemical was used to produce fentanyl. We intentionally transported these precursors to the United States,” prosecutors claimed in the indictment. ”
Amarvel employees ended up transporting 200 kilograms of the fentanyl precursor to the United States over the course of eight months, according to investigative sources.
Two employees of Amarvel Biotech, Qingzhou Wang, 35, and Yiyi Cheng, 31, were arrested and charged with fentanyl trafficking, precursor chemical importation and money laundering. They were deported from Fiji on June 8 and arrested by the DEA. Another defendant remains at large.
The news comes two months after four Chinese and one Guatemalan were indicted for supplying the fentanyl ingredient. Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. The defendants were indicted in April along with the three sons of former drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán for orchestrating a cross-border fentanyl trafficking operation into the United States. said the filing.
According to the Justice Department, between August 2021 and August 2022, 107,735 people in the United States will die from drug overdoses, two-thirds of which will be due to fentanyl. Nearly 200 people die each day from fentanyl poisoning, which is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49.
Investigators described a highway for fentanyl production that begins in China, where the ingredients are primarily manufactured. They are usually shipped to Mexico for fentanyl production north of the border, and in some cases to the United States.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Friday that “Chinese companies are selling large amounts of precursor chemicals to drug cartels.” “The United States has called on China to address the serious problem of illegal synthetic drug production and trafficking, and we reiterate that call today.”
Monaco also said its Justice Department is working with social media companies to combat the illegal sale of fentanyl on its sites.
In indictment documents, prosecutors allege that Amarvel Biotech executives and employees admitted illegality of their products, created false shipping labels and advertisements, and utilized a network of contacts and warehouses across Mexico and the United States. claim.
In an exchange between defendants and DEA officials regarding the sale of fentanyl, Amarvel Biotech was allegedly told the drug was “unsafe,” to which defendants said they “know.” court documents revealed.
“I think it’s normal to be cautious before embarking on a new partnership, but I’m sure you’ll be happy with our product. Not only will we be able to synthesize fentanyl, but we will be able to save a lot of money compared to synthesizing fentanyl,” said the person. It is said that he also made an appointment with an undercover cop.
A shipment of fentanyl-related chemicals eventually arrived in Los Angeles in May, where it was seized by DEA officials.
DEA Commissioner Ann Milgram said Friday that some Chinese companies are providing “blueprints” to fentanyl manufacturers around the world, hiring chemists to answer questions and provide suggestions for new ingredients. He said he was doing it.
The indictment, released from the Eastern District of New York City, shows that other accused companies, including Anhui Rencheng Technology Co., Ltd. and Hefei GSK Trading Co., Ltd., applied “masking molecules” to their batches to conceal the fentanyl ingredients they were shipping. I made it clear what I was trying to do. Investigators claim that such a procedure could temporarily alter the chemical composition of the material to avoid detection during transportation. Upon receipt, the companies allegedly provided customers with instructions to unmask the chemical and process it into fentanyl.
“The worse news is coming. With every investigation, every indictment, we’re after you,” Milgram said.
