1st US charges against China-based companies accused of selling fentanyl chemicals filed
The Justice Department has for the first time charged China-based companies and employees with supplying chemicals needed to make fentanyl, a primary driver of an overdose crisis gripping the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday that the companies openly advertised the chemicals on social media platforms and shipped them surreptitiously to buyers, even adding molecules to evade testing
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has for the first time charged China-based companies and employees with supplying chemicals needed to make fentanyl, a primary driver of an overdose crisis gripping the United States, top officials said Friday.
The companies openly advertised the chemicals on social media platforms and shipped them surreptitiously to buyers, even adding molecules to evade testing, said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
“We are targeting every step of the movement and manufacturing sale of fentanyl, from start to finish,” Garland said.
Two of the eight people charged have been arrested in the Drug Enforcement Administration investigation into four companies, which also seized more than 200 kilograms of precursor chemicals needed to make fentanyl. The synthetic opioid is considered exponentially more addictive than heroin and is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49.
