DOJ Charges Chinese Companies, Executives With Illegally Trafficking Fentanyl Precursor Chemicals

DOJ rolled out indictments on June 23 against four China-based chemical manufacturing companies and eight employees and executives at these companies for knowingly making, selling and distributing precursor chemicals for fentanyl proliferation in the U.S. Filing three cases at two New York district courts, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the suits stand as an effort to target "every step of the movement, manufacturing, and sale of fentanyl -- from start to finish." The cases mark the first time a Chinese company or individual has been charged for trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals.

Garland said the companies "knowingly conspired to manufacture deadly fentanyl for distribution" in the U.S., saying just one of the firms shipped enough precursor chemicals to make enough fentanyl "to kill 25 million Americans."

A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce said China "has always strictly enforced drug control" and "took the lead in the world in scheduling a whole class of fentanyl substances, which has played an important role in preventing the illegal production, trafficking and abuse of fentanyl," according to an unofficial translation. The spokesperson added that the U.S. is undertaking "phishing law enforcement" to "illegally obtain" evidence against Chinese firms, calling it a "typical unilateral bullying act."

One indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, while two were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The SDNY suit, opened against Hubei Amarvel Biotech Co. and three executives and employees of the firm, charged them with fentanyl trafficking, precursor chemical importation violations and money laundering crimes. One of the executives is currently at large, while the other two, Qingzhou Wang and Yiyi Chen, were expelled from Fiji and arrested by U.S. authorities. They will appear in court after they arrive in New York from Hawaii.

Amarvel Biotech, based in Wuhan, allegedly exported large amounts of the precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl and advertised its shipment of these chemicals to the U.S. and Mexico, where drug cartels operate their fentanyl laboratories, DOJ said. The company guaranteed "100% stealth shipping" abroad, posting documentation of it shipping chemicals to Culiacan, Mexico, the home base of the Sinaloa Cartel. The three executives allegedly shipped over 200 kilograms of the precursor chemicals from China to the U.S. over the past eight months.

The two suits filed in the Eastern District of New York charge Anhui Rencheng Technology Co., Anhui Moker New Material Technology Co., Shutong Wang, Shifang Ruan, Hefei GSK Trade Co. and Hebei Sinaloa Trading Co. with conspiracy to make and distribute fentanyl and related offenses, DOJ said. Five executives were also charged with committing customs fraud, illegally hiding their activities and bringing misbranded drugs to the U.S. market.

DOJ noted that the companies advertised their goods on social media platforms. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said DOJ has "encouraged social media platforms to enforce their terms of service and remove this content" and prodded the platforms to address this "public safety emergency."

The department added that the companies used "deceptive and fraudulent practices," including lying on customs forms and mislabeling packages to conceal their products. They also added "masking" molecules to the chemicals to evade testing protocols and regulations, the agency said. The molecules change the chemical signature of the chemicals, making them appear to be a new, non-fentanyl precursor substance. The companies "provided instructions about how to remove the masking molecules upon receipt, thus helping their customers to more effectively obtain banned precursors and produce fentanyl," DOJ said.