China Companies, Individuals Facing Charges Over Fentanyl, Meth Production
A slew of charges are filed against China-based companies and Chinese nationals, related to the sale and production of fentanyl and methamphetamine. Companion sanctions were also levied by the Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The charges were filed in the Middle District of Florida and the Southern District of Florida and were the result of investigations by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), whose mission is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States.
“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 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.”
Florida Indictments
Five Chinese corporations and eight Chinese nationals were charged in the Middle District of Florida with the illegal importation of fentanyl and fentanyl-related chemicals into the United States. Eight defendants were also charged with international money laundering.
Prosecutors say the defendants had a brazen scheme, openly advertising their ability to thwart customs and deliver the chemicals to make fentanyl, using fake shipping labels and special procedures to ensure the chemicals were not detected.
The Chinese companies allegedly delivered a stable supply of drug making products to clients in Mexico.
In the Southern District of Florida, three Chinese companies and four officers and employees of those companies were hit with an array of charges including fentanyl trafficking, synthetic opioid trafficking, precursor chemical importation, defrauding the U.S. Postal Service, and making and using counterfeit postage.
Prosecutors say one of the companies exported large quantities of fentanyl precursors and non-opioid additives to the U.S. and Mexico, with one of the shipments going to a drug trafficker in Pennsylvania and another to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, for manufacture and eventual distribution of the drugs into the U.S.
Sanctions Levied
In conjunction with the indictments, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 28 Chinese individuals and entities.
“Treasury is taking sweeping action with our colleagues in law enforcement to expose and disrupt a network responsible for manufacturing and distributing illicit drugs, including fentanyl and other substances that take thousands of American lives each year,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “Today’s action from OFAC and IRS-CI reflects how we will swiftly use all of our tools to counter the global threat posed by the illicit drug trade.”