The Department of Justice announced Friday that it had chargedand eight Chinese nationals for the trafficking of fentanyl precursor chemicals into the U.S. for the first time.
The indictments allege, specifically, that the defendants had knowingly manufactured, marketed, sold and supplied precursor chemicals for fentanyl production in the U.S., which is a violation of federal law.The Drug Enforcement Agency seized more than 200 kilograms of fentanyl-related precursor chemicals during these investigations.
In the southern district of New York, charges were brought against a China-based manufacturer and supplier of fentanyl precursor chemicals, its principal executive and two of its employees for their role in an international fentanyl trafficking conspiracy. In two separate indictments in the eastern district of New York, three other Chinese-based companies and five of their employees were charged with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl.
Garland noted that they also added what are known as "masking" molecules to their fentanyl precursor chemicals. With that addition, the chemical signature of the precursor is changed, and – when it is shipped – it appears to be a new, non-fentanyl precursor substance. Merrick Garland announces the arrest of Chinese chemical company employees as part of an investigation into the fentanyl precursor supply chain during a news conference at the Robert F. Kennedy headquarters building on June 23, 2023 in Washington, D.