What happens when the deadliest drug crisis in North America begins thousands of miles away in Asia, inside a legitimate global supply chain?
To understand the North American fentanyl crisis, we must follow the chemical trail back to its source: China.
China is the primary source of fentanyl precursors and pill presses in North America. These chemicals are exported primarily to Mexico or sent directly to Canadian labs, often hidden within international mail or express consignment operations.
Through numerous hearings and investigations, the U.S. Congress has spotlighted how the Chinese government has actively subsidized the export of fentanyl precursors, and has encouraged sanctions against China-based individuals and companies involved in the illegal fentanyl trade.
A cross-border joint investigation exposed a specific international smuggling operation centered in Wuhan, China. The firm, Hubei Amarvel Biotech, was central to a conspiracy to import fentanyl precursor chemicals into the US, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon noted that they did so with callous disregard for the effect that such deadly chemicals would ultimately have in the United States.
This investigation confirms that the fentanyl epidemic is not just a drug crisis. It is a sophisticated, global manufacturing, smuggling, and money laundering operation, and possibly worse.
Chinese criminal networks continue to be not only the main suppliers of precursor chemicals for fentanyl and meth to the drug cartels in Mexico, Canada, and the United States, but are also financing other illicit activities across the Western Hemisphere, including laundering the cartels' dirty money.
The chemical pipeline often starts thousands of miles away in China, yet its product lands on our streets across North America.
The chemicals are made in Asia, but an army of Chinese criminal groups move them into North America, and when converged with other asymmetrical threats, help to expand illicit economies, fund malign operations, and do greater harm to many impacted communities.
