Eight indictments against Chinese companies and individuals have been unsealed by the Justice Department in the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida. These indictments relate to the production of synthetic opioids like fentanyl and methamphetamine, as well as sales of precursor chemicals.
The second round of prosecutions to accuse Chinese chemical manufacturing companies and citizens of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) of fentanyl precursor chemical trafficking into the United States builds on the indictments that were previously issued in June.
The press release announced that the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 28 individuals and entities involved with the international proliferation of illicit drugs, including a China-based network responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of ton quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and MDMA precursors. Those designated by OFAC today are also involved in the global trafficking of xylazine and “nitazenes,” which are highly potent and often mixed with illicit fentanyl or other drugs.
“We know that the global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The United States government is focused on breaking apart every link in that chain, getting fentanyl out of our communities, and bringing those who put it there to justice.”
Hanhong Pharmaceutical Technology Co., LTD posted this listing to an online chemical marketplace selling the veterinary sedative xylazine, also known by the street name “tranq.”
The networks targeted today have been involved in the trafficking of xylazine and “nitazenes” into the United States.
Xylazine, or “tranq,” is a powerful sedative for veterinary use that is increasingly misused by narcotics traffickers who mix it with illicit fentanyl to produce a deadly mixture. According to a DEA public safety alert, fentanyl and xylazine mixtures are more potent than either drug alone, placing users at a higher risk of suffering a fatal drug overdose. Xylazine has also been coined the “zombie drug” because it can cause severe wounds in users, including necrosis — the rotting of human tissue — which may lead to amputation.
