Feds target international fentanyl supply chain with ties to China
Source: CBS News
October 3, 2023 / 4:37 PM
Washington — Federal prosecutors charged 12 individuals and eight companies in China with engaging in international schemes to sell and ship chemicals used to produce fentanyl and other deadly drugs across the world and into the U.S., the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Eight separate indictments unsealed in the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida described an increasingly common and dangerous global fentanyl supply chain, whereby chemical companies and executives mainly based in China allegedly manufacture and distribute the chemical building blocks of fentanyl and other drugs and sell them to crime syndicates, including Mexican drug cartels that produce the deadly drugs.
"Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat the United States has ever faced," Attorney General Merrick Garland said, announcing the charges. "We know who is responsible for poisoning the American people with fentanyl ... we know that behind the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans is a cartel-driven fentanyl trafficking network that spans countries and continents."
According to the indictments, some of the defendants — none of whom have been taken into custody, according to Garland — used deceptive practices like fake shipping labels, false postage stamps and fraudulent invoices to bypass customs agents and import the chemicals directly into the U.S. and Mexico. They are accused of openly selling the chemicals online and flaunting their ability to safely ship the precursor chemicals without alerting law enforcement.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fentanyl-china-international-supply-chain-justice-department/
= new reply since forum marked as read
