US files first-ever charges against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers
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[June 24, 2023]
By Sarah N. Lynch and Luc Cohen
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department on Friday
filed criminal charges against four Chinese chemical manufacturing
companies and eight individuals over allegations they illegally
trafficked the chemicals used to make fentanyl - a highly addictive
painkiller that has fueled the opioid crisis in the United States.
The indictments mark the first time the U.S. has sought to prosecute any
of the Chinese companies responsible for manufacturing precursor
chemicals used to make the painkiller.
China's foreign ministry on Saturday urged the U.S. to stop using what
it said were fentanyl-related pretexts to sanction and prosecute Chinese
companies and citizens, and demanded the immediate release of those who
were "illegally arrested".
"China urges the U.S. side to stop dumping blame and to stop smear
attacks on China," the ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, the Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said such "long-arm
jurisdiction" would create more obstacles for China-U.S.
counter-narcotics cooperation.
The move came after Antony Blinken made the first visit to China by a
U.S. Secretary of State in five years and said he had made clear that
Washington needs much greater Chinese cooperation to stem the flow of
fentanyl.
During his visit, the two sides agreed to stabilize their intense
rivalry so that it did not veer into conflict, but failed to produce any
breakthrough and the mood quickly soured again after U.S. President Joe
Biden on Tuesday referred to Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a dictator.
The companies at the heart of the three separate indictments are accused
of selling precursor chemicals to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, which
has flooded the U.S. with the drug.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan announced the unsealing of an
indictment against the China-based Hubei Amarvel Biotech, along with its
executives Qingzhou Wang, 35, Yiyi Chen, 31, and Fnu Lnu, also known as
Er Yang, with fentanyl trafficking, precursor chemical importation, and
money laundering offenses.
In the Eastern District of New York, prosecutors announced the unsealing
of two more indictments against three other Chinese companies and
individuals accused of conspiring to manufacture and distribute fentanyl.
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Plastic bags of Fentanyl are displayed
on a table at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection area at the
International Mail Facility at O'Hare International Airport in
Chicago, Illinois, U.S. November 29, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Lott/File
Photo
Prosecutors said the companies - including one called Hebei Sinaloa
Trading Co - advertised precursor chemicals on social media in
Mexico and the U.S., and used false customs forms and mislabeled
packages to ship the chemicals by boat and air.
Two months earlier, the Justice Department charged leaders of the
Sinaloa cartel with running a fentanyl trafficking operation fueled
by Chinese chemical companies, including three sons of Joaquin "El
Chapo" Guzman, the onetime cartel leader now imprisoned in the U.S.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the cases "break new ground
by attacking the fentanyl supply chain at its origin."
"Fentanyl poses a singular threat, not only because the smallest
doses can be lethal, but because fentanyl does not occur in nature.
It is entirely man-made."
Also on Friday, Blinken announced he would convene a virtual
ministerial meeting on July 7 of dozens of countries and
international organizations, to launch a Global Coalition to Address
Synthetic Drug Threats.
The aim would be to unite countries "in a concerted effort to
prevent the illicit manufacture and trafficking of synthetic drugs,
identify emerging drug trends, and respond effectively to their
public health impacts," he said in a statement.
The Justice Department said undercover Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) sources posing as fentanyl manufacturers met
with Wang and Chen earlier this year and agreed to buy 210 kg of
fentanyl precursors in exchange for payment in cryptocurrency. The
DEA retrieved the chemicals from a Los Angeles warehouse in May.
Wang and Chen were arrested by DEA agents on June 8 and ordered
detained in Honolulu, Hawaii until they can be transported to New
York to appear before the judge handling the case. Yang remains at
large.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington and Luc Cohen in New
York; additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington and
Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Angus MacSwan and
Alistair Bell)
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