Chinese drug mafia hand-in-glove with Mexican criminals, stoking deadly opioid crisis in US
Jul 19, 2022
Beijing [China], July 19 : Chinese drug mafias are working in connivance with the Mexican transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) to bypass international precursor chemical controls and grow the movement of a wide range of illicit drugs destined for the United States, an annual assessment by the US Drug Enforcement Administration has found.
Opioids, including fentanyl, heroin, and emerging synthetic opioids, are fueling a deadly drug crisis in the United States.
These mafias control the illicit drug markets commonly referred to as drug cartels and drug trafficking organizations (DTOs). These poly-criminal organizations also participate in extortion, human smuggling, arms trafficking, and oil theft, among other crimes.
Illicit imports of fentanyl from Mexico involve Chinese-produced fentanyl or fentanyl precursors sourced from China. This China-Mexico drug mafias nexus significantly influence drug trafficking in the United States and pose the greatest drug trafficking threat.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA's) annual National Drug Threat Assessment, TCOs use a combination of methods to obtain chemicals used for fentanyl production in Mexico, primarily from sources originating in China, including purchases made on the open market, smuggling chemicals hidden in legitimate commercial shipments, mislabeling shipments to avoid controls and the attention of law enforcement, and diversion from the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Legal controls on these precursors vary from country to country. Law enforcement seizures in 2019 and 2020 include many chemicals which are uncontrolled in China and Mexico.
There are continued efforts by traffickers in Mexico and China to bypass international precursor chemical controls to continue producing illicit fentanyl.
In May 2020, Mexican officials seized a combination of 169.5 kilograms of 4-AP and N-Phenethyl-4- piperidone (NPP) from a container shipment at the Port of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.
The bags containing the chemicals were hidden amongst a legitimate shipment containing bags of powdered soap. The container shipment originated in Shanghai, China, and transited through Quingdao, China, and Busan, South Korea, before arriving in Mexico.
Fentanyl distributors in the United States also continue to order fentanyl, FRCs, and other synthetic opioids, such as U-47700, directly from manufacturers in China via the Internet including the dark web, with delivery accomplished by international mail and commercial parcel services.
China-sourced fentanyl typically is smuggled in small volumes and generally tested over 90 percent pure. In 2019, U.S. law enforcement continued to seize China-sourced fentanyl though in smaller volumes and with fewer occurrences than previous years.
Mexican TCOs has remained the primary source of supply for heroin and fentanyl smuggled into the United States, using precursors primarily sourced from China, and they has been continuing to use their extensive infrastructure in both Mexico and the United States to supply lucrative U.S. opioid markets.
Wholesale quantities of NPSs are usually trafficked to the United States via commercial mail carriers from China, often intentionally mislabeled or described as not for human consumption in an attempt to avoid scrutiny from domestic law enforcement and customs officials.
Tragically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 105,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in the 12 months ending in October 2021. This rate increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the CDC, this is the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in the United States in a 12-month period. Synthetic opioids, specifically illicitly manufactured fentanyl, are the primary drivers of overdose deaths in the United States.
The new modality of synthetic drug trafficking poses a significant challenge to the United States. Drug traffickers often mix synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, into heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and other drugs; this practice can leave users unaware of the drug's potentially lethal potency.
