The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Oct. 3 sanctions against 28 individuals and entities involved in a network that sends foreign fentanyl over the nation’s borders. The Justice Department (DOJ) also unsealed eight indictments against China-based chemical manufacturing companies and employees involved in fentanyl production. Sanctions The 14 entities and 14 individuals are responsible for manufacturing and distributing fentanyl, methamphetamine, and ingredients used to make MDMA, as well as trafficking potent drugs often mixed with fentanyl and other drugs. The majority of those sanctioned are in China. Two entities and one individual were based in Canada. “Effective immediately, these individuals and entities, located in the People’s Republic of China and in Canada, are cut off from using the U.S. financial system and all U.S. persons are barred from transacting with them,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. Related StoriesFamilies of Those Killed by Fentanyl Gather at DEA as US Undergoes Deadliest Overdose Crisis9/30/2023Cybersecurity, Grooming, and Fentanyl Among Top Concerns Addressed at School Safety Forum9/24/2023 “It’s the latest step in the rapid scaling up of our work targeting the financial flows that power the global illicit drug trade,” Mr. Adeyemo added. According to a 2022 report (pdf) by the global inter-governmental and watchdog organization Financial Action Task Force, which OFAC referenced, synthetic opioid production and trafficking moves tens of billions of dollars annually. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. As of 2022, fentanyl was responsible for 70 percent of deaths by overdose or poisoning, and the number is thought to be an underestimate because overdose deaths involving other drugs laced with fentanyl sometimes go uncounted. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported seizing 387.9 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl in 2022. “The United States government is focused on breaking apart every link in that chain, getting fentanyl out of our communities, and bringing those who put it there to justice,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. Indictments The DEA had led investigations that resulted in the eight charges. According to the DOJ, China-based producers of fentanyl and of chemicals used to make fentanyl are skirting the law by using “re-shippers” who send the products to the United States. They use “false return labels, false invoices, fraudulent postage,” obscure packaging, and take payments in cryptocurrency to hide their location, according to an Oct. 3 DOJ release. The primary redistributors are in cartels based in Sinaloa and Jalisco in Mexico.
US Treasury Issues Sanctions Targeting China-Backed Fentanyl Entities, Individuals
