The United States Department of Justice charged four China-Based precursor chemical manufacturing firms and eight executives and employees in a global supply chain disruption including fentanyl. Three indictments in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York were announced, charging the China-based companies and their employees with crimes related to “fentanyl production, distribution, and sales resulting from precursor chemicals.”

The indictments are the first prosecutions to charge China-based chemical manufacturing companies and nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for “trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States.” The indictments allege the defendants “knowingly manufactured, marketed, sold, and supplied precursor chemicals for fentanyl production in the United States in violation of federal law.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigated the companies in an undercover project for eight months and discovered the global drug scheme. The DEA seized over 200 kilograms of fentanyl-related precursor chemicals, which accounted for enough deadly doses that could kill 25 million Americans.

Though the actors arrested in the United States will face charges, there is no legal agreement between China and the United States to deport any Chinese nationals owning or working at the drug companies.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said that the fentanyl epidemic is extremely addictive and deadly.

Fentanyl deaths are on the rise in the United States, according to a public statement released by DOJ and Attorney General Garland. According to the DOJ release, “Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid that is more than fifty times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.” The statement goes on to say that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently estimated that the number of Americans believed to be killed by fentanyl is about 110,000 in 2022 alone. This killer drug is currently the leading cause of death for young Americans between 18 and 49, according to the DOJ. Additionally, the many “analogues” of fentanyl are very similar in their chemical composition and may be even more deadly than the drug itself.

In New York City, for example, there was a 79 percent surge in fentanyl overdoses and 2,881 reported deaths in 2021.

The indictment in the Southern District of New York charges the China-based chemical company Hubei Amarvel Biotech Co. Ltd., aka AmarvelBio, (Amarvel Biotech), as well as its executives and employees Qingzhou Wang, 35, aka Bruce (Wang); Yiyi Chen, 31, aka Chiron (Chen); and Fnu Lnu, aka Er Yang and Anita (Yang), with fentanyl trafficking, precursor chemical importation, and money laundering offenses. Specifically, the indictment targets the two China nationals, Wang and Chen, in the crimes.

The DEA worked with Fiji on June 8 to expel Wang and Chen and arrested Chen, who was charged before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wes Reber Porter in Honolulu federal court on June 9. They will appear in federal court in Manhattan, in the Southern District of New York. Wang eluded the authorities and is at large.

“The indictment unsealed today in the Southern District of New York is the next step in our fight against fentanyl,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “Today, we target the very beginning of the fentanyl supply chain: the Chinese manufacturers of the raw chemicals used to make fentanyl and its analogues. We’ve charged a Chinese precursor chemical company. And that’s not all. We’ve charged and arrested some of the individuals who work at the company. That includes a corporate executive and a marketing manager. They’re in American handcuffs. And they’re going to face justice in an American courtroom.”

The indictment and court documents claim Amarvel Biotech, a chemical manufacturer based in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, China, exported very large quantities of the precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl and its “analogues.” The company, according to court files, “openly advertised” its services to ship fentanyl precursor chemicals to the United States and Mexico.

In the Eastern District New York federal court, two indictments were unsealed, alleging criminal conspiracies by both companies and employees located in China to manufacture and then distribute Fentanyl in the United States.

The first indictment charges Anhui Rencheng Technology Co. (Rencheng) Ltd.; Anhui Moker New Material Technology Co.; Shutong Wang; and Shifang Ruan, aka Eva, with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, manufacture of fentanyl, and other related offenses. In addition, the indictment charges those same defendants, as well as Xinyu Zhao, aka Sarah, and Yue Gao, aka Ellie, with illegally concealing their activities, including through customs fraud and introducing misbranded drugs into the U.S. marketplace.

In this second indictment, charges were filed against Rencheng, Wang, and Ruan with conspiracy to distribute butonitazene, a controlled substance. Other charges in this second indictment include, “charges Hefei GSK Trade Co. Ltd, aka Hebei Gesuke Trading Co. Ltd. and Hebei Sinaloa Trading Co. Ltd.; and Ruiqing Li with similar offenses, including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, manufacture of fentanyl, conspiracy to distribute a List I chemical, distribution of a List I chemical, customs fraud conspiracy, introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, and distribution of metonitazene, a controlled substance.”