Illegal fentanyl trade / US sues 8 Chinese companies

2023-10-04 15:18:17, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Justice Department says it has conducted a wide-ranging operation to dismantle fentanyl distribution networks, charging eight Chinese companies and 12 of their employees in connection with the deadly opioid crisis in the United States. Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49, making it the deadliest drug threat the United States has ever faced, law enforcement officials say.

Federal prosecutors in Florida filed eight separate indictments, accusing eight Chinese companies and their employees of manufacturing fentanyl and methamphetamine, distributing opioids and supplying drug traffickers with ingredients used to make illegal drugs.

"This network includes leaders of drug cartels, drug traffickers, individuals who have laundered their money, their security forces, their arms suppliers and their chemical suppliers. We know that this global supply chain of fentanyl, which causes deaths of Americans, often begins with companies manufacturing the chemical in China," said United States Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The Treasury Department announced the imposition of sanctions on 28 people and entities in China and Canada, including a China-based network that manufactures and distributes illegal drugs in the United States.

In June, four Chinese chemical companies and eight of their executives and employees were indicted in the United States for trafficking chemicals used to make fentanyl.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can kill a person with a very small amount, is hitting communities in the United States hard.

According to the Department of Justice, more than 105,000 Americans died of an overdose between February 2022 and January 2023. Most of these deaths were caused by the use of fentanyl or other drugs of the same type, which have a similar composition. chemical and are deadly.

Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49, making it the deadliest drug threat the United States has ever faced, law enforcement officials say.