CBP Continues to Set Global Standard in Fight Against Forced Labor One Year of Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Implementation - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
WASHINGTON — CBP continues to lead U.S. government efforts to eliminate goods from the supply chain made with forced labor from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China (XUAR), one year after the agency began implementing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
“American consumers don’t want goods that cost another human’s life or liberty. As we have diligently worked to implement the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevent Act over the past year, one of the greatest measures of success is an observable shift by in supply chain practices to avoid sourcing from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” said Senior Official Performing Duties of CBP Commissioner Troy A. Miller. “CBP remains committed to eliminating forced labor from supply chains and shining a spotlight on global human rights, to ensure that workers around the world are treated with dignity.”
Under the leadership of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas, CBP has played a critical role in the first year of implementation and engagement.
• CBP has stopped nearly 4,300 shipments subject to UFLPA review or enforcement actions valued at over $1.3 billion, added new requirements and increased benefits for Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism members.
• CBP has launched an interactive public dashboard sharing regularly updated statistics on UFLPA enforcement efforts.
• CBP has conducted more than 300 engagements with thousands of industry members, non-governmental organizations, Congress, and the media to provide information and resources necessary to comply with the law.
Moving into the second year of UFLPA enforcement, CBP will continue to collaborate with trade associations, non-governmental organizations, U.S. federal agencies, and foreign governments to globally combat forced labor and provide technical assistance to like-minded international partners. The agency will also support the Department of Homeland Security and the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to expand the UFLPA Entity List referenced in a recent DHS press release by pursuing a more robust and effective in-depth research, analysis, review and vetting of potential entities.
“While we’re proud of the work we’ve done this past year, there is still a lot left to do,” said CBP Office of Trade Executive Assistant Commissioner AnnMarie R. Highsmith. “Our laws aren’t in place just to keep these goods out of the U.S. They exist to ensure that no good is ever made with forced labor in the first place. We have a long way to go to reach that reality, and you can bet that this will be a top priority for CBP until we do.”
The UFLPA, passed by Congress in December 2021, strengthens CBP’s ability to prohibit goods made with forced labor from entering the United States commerce. The law presumes that goods mined, manufactured, or produced wholly or in part in the XUAR or by entities on the UFLPA Entities List use forced labor and are therefore prohibited entry into the United States under Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930.
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Federal Register Notices:
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Tin Mill Products From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination
• Certain Quartz Surface Products From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Changed Circumstances Reviews; Global Stone
• Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip From Taiwan: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Preliminary Determination of No Shipments; 2021-2022
• Certain Paper Shopping Bags From India and the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations
• Certain Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing of Carbon and Alloy Steel From India: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews of Goodluck India Limited; 2017-2019 and 2019-2020
• Certain Quartz Surface Products From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Changed Circumstances Reviews; AM Stone
• Multilayered Wood Flooring From the People's Republic of China: Notice of Court Decision Not in Harmony With the Results of 2015-2016 Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; Notice of Amended Final Results
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Frozen Warmwater Shrimp From China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam; Determination
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Aluminum Foil From the People's Republic of China: Extension of Deadline To Certify Certain Entries
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Aluminum Foil From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of the Expedited First Sunset Review of the Countervailing Duty Order
• Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Dioctyl Terephthalate From South Korea
• Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Certain Aluminum Foil From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of the Expedited First Sunset Review of the Antidumping Duty Order
• Multilayered Wood Flooring From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, Final Determination of No Shipments, and Final Successor-in-Interest Determination; 2020-2021
• Welded Line Pipe From the Republic of Korea: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2020-2021
• Glycine From India: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review and Rescission, in Part; 2021
• Brass Rod From India, Israel, and the Republic of Korea: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing Duty Investigations
• Low Melt Polyester Staple Fiber From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022
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CBP Introduces Customs Broker Education Requirements - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
New requirements ensure customs brokers stay up to date on U.S. trade laws and regulations as volume of trade increases
WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced a new continuing education requirement for customs brokers, which will enhance compliant trade and protect against illicit trade entering U.S. commerce in an increasingly interconnected global trade environment.
“Today’s announcement of new training requirements for customs brokers is an important and long-awaited step forward in enhancing trade enforcement,” said Troy A. Miller, Senior Official Performing the Duties of Commissioner. “As the volume of global trade increases and global supply chains grow ever more complex, the role of the customs broker also evolves, necessitating that they remain up to date on emerging priorities and regulations.”
The new regulation, signed by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas, requires individual customs brokers to earn 36 hours of continuing education every three years on evolving customs rules and related U.S. trade laws in order for customs brokers to maintain a valid license.
“Each day, customs brokers facilitate the movement of an estimated 107,500 shipments worth $9.2 billion into the United States,” said AnnMarie R. Highsmith, Executive Assistant Commissioner for CBP’s Office of Trade. “These new requirements will ensure that customs brokers stay up to date on U.S. trade laws and regulations – building in another critical layer of protection against bad actors looking to take advantage of increased trade to hide illegal products that would directly harm consumers and the economy.”
CBP will offer additional guidance on continuing education requirements for the upcoming 2024-2027 triennial status period and will provide information on course offerings through CBP and partner U.S. government agencies on a future date. CBP and partner government agencies will offer a variety of continuing education credits at no cost to customs brokers. Training and educational activities offered by a party other than CBP or a partner U.S. government agency will require approval by a CBP-selected accreditor.
CBP will publish information on the accreditation process in the near term on theCBP.gov customs brokers page and will continue to communicate updates on the new requirements, when brokers can begin pursuing continuing education credits, and how many credits will be required for the upcoming 2024-2027 triennial period.
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FTC Order Requires New England-based Clothing Accessories Company to Pay for Falsely Claiming Its Products Were Made in USA - Federal Trade Commission
Order requires company to stop deceptive claims
The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against a group of Massachusetts- and New Hampshire-based clothing accessories companies, along with their owner, Thomas Bates, for falsely claiming that certain company products were manufactured in the U.S. The FTC’s proposed order would stop the companies and Bates from making deceptive claims about products being “Made in USA” and require them to pay a monetary judgment.
“‘Made in USA’ means what it says,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Falsely labeling products as ‘Made in USA’ hurts consumers and competition, and the FTC will continue to aggressively enforce the law to stop deceptive claims and hold violators accountable.”
According to the FTC’s complaint, the companies—Chaucer Accessories, Bates Accessories, and Bates Retail Group—have frequently advertised their products as being “Made in USA” or “Hand Crafted in USA” in their marketing and sales materials. Additionally, the complaint alleges, the companies sold certain belts labeled as “Made in USA from Global Materials.”
In spite of those claims, the complaint charges that the companies sold certain products that were wholly imported or incorporated significant imported components. The complaint also charges that belts labeled “Made in USA from Global Materials” consisted of belt straps imported from Taiwan with buckles attached in the U.S.
The FTC’s order against the companies and Bates, which the respondents have agreed to, includes a number of requirements about the claims they make:
• Restriction on unqualified claims: the companies and Bates will be prohibited from making unqualified U.S.-origin claims for any product, unless it can show that the product’s final assembly or processing—and all significant processing—takes place in the U.S., and that all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the U.S.
• Requirement for qualified claims: the companies and Bates are required to include in any qualified Made in USA claims a clear and conspicuous disclosure about the extent to which the product contains foreign parts, ingredients or components, or processing.
• Requirement for assembly claims: the companies and Bates must also ensure, when claiming a product is assembled in the U.S., that it is last substantially transformed in the U.S., its principal assembly takes place in the U.S., and U.S. assembly operations are substantial.
• Monetary judgment: The order includes a monetary judgment of $191,481, which the companies and Bates will be required to surrender to the FTC.
The FTC is committed to ensuring that “Made in USA” claims are truthful. The FTC’s Enforcement Policy Statement on U.S. Origin Claims provides guidance on making non-deceptive “Made in USA” claims. In addition, the FTC’s Made in USA Labeling Rule went into effect on Aug. 13, 2021. Companies that violate the Rule from that date forward may be subject to civil penalties.
The Commission vote to issue the administrative complaint and to accept the consent agreement was 3-0. The lead staff attorney on this matter was Julia Solomon Ensor in the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and protect and educate consumers. Learn more about consumer topics at consumer.ftc.gov, or report fraud, scams, and bad business practices at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Follow the FTC on social media, read consumer alerts and the business blog, and sign up to get the latest FTC news and alerts.
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United States Announces Major Resolution on Key Trade Issues with India - U.S. International Trade Representative
Underscoring the close bilateral economic and trade relationship, the United States and India will terminate six WTO disputes; India will remove retaliatory tariffs on select U.S. products
WASHINGTON – United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai today announced that the United States and the Republic of India have agreed to terminate six outstanding disputes at the World Trade Organization. India also agreed to remove retaliatory tariffs, which it had imposed in response to the U.S. Section 232 national security measures on steel and aluminum, on certain U.S. products, including chickpeas, lentils, almonds, walnuts, apples, boric acid, and diagnostic reagents. The Exchange of Letters between the United States and India is available here.
These tariff cuts will restore and expand market opportunities for U.S. agricultural producers and manufacturers. The resolution also maintains the integrity of the U.S. Section 232 measures. This announcement comes as President Biden welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States for an Official State Visit.
“Prime Minister Modi’s visit has underscored the importance of the U.S.-India bilateral relationship and our cooperation on a range of shared priorities. Today’s agreement represents the culmination of intensified bilateral engagement over the last two years, including through the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum, to deepen our economic and trade ties,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “As a result of our work, U.S. agricultural producers and manufacturers will now enjoy renewed access to a critical global market and we will strengthen our trade relationship with one of our closest partners. I look forward to continue to working with my counterpart, Minister Goyal, as we identify additional ways to bring our people and our economies together.”
The six World Trade Organization disputes that will be terminated can be found below. These include three disputes initiated by India and three disputes initiated by the United States.
• United States – Countervailing Measures on Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from India (DS436);
• India – Certain Measures Relating to Solar Cells and Solar Modules (DS456);
• United States – Certain Measures Relating to the Renewable Energy Sector (DS510);
• India – Export Related Measures (DS541);
• United States – Certain Measures on Steel and Aluminium Products (DS547); and
• India – Additional Duties on Certain Products from the United States (DS585).
In line with the close partnership highlighted by the Official State Visit of Prime Minister Modi, the agreement opens a new chapter of bilateral cooperation that will deepen and diversify the trade relationship between the United States and India.
The Joint Statement on the 13th Ministerial-level meeting of the United States-India Trade Policy Forum, which was held on January 11, 2023, can be found here.
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Justice Department Announces Charges Against China-Based Chemical Manufacturing Companies and Arrests of Executives in Fentanyl Manufacturing - U.S. Department of Justice
Four China-Based Precursor Chemical Manufacturing Companies and Eight Executives and Employees Charged in Global Supply Chain Disruption
The Justice Department today announced the arrest of two individuals and the unsealing of three indictments in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York charging China-based companies and their employees with crimes related to fentanyl production, distribution, and sales resulting from precursor chemicals. These indictments represent 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. Specifically, 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.
During these investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized more than 200 kilograms of fentanyl-related precursor chemicals, a quantity that could contain enough deadly doses to kill 25 million Americans.
Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl and its analogues have devastated communities across the United States and are fueling the ongoing overdose epidemic, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently estimated killed approximately 110,000 Americans in 2022. Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49. Fentanyl analogues, similar in chemical makeup and effect to fentanyl, can be even more potent and lethal than fentanyl.
“When I announced in April that the Justice Department had taken significant enforcement actions against the Sinaloa Cartel, I promised that the Justice Department would never forget the victims of the fentanyl epidemic,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “I also promised that we would never stop working to hold accountable those who bear responsibility for it. That includes not only going after the leaders of the Cartels, their drug and gun traffickers, their money launderers, security forces, and clandestine lab operators. It also includes stopping the Chinese chemical companies that are supplying the cartels with the building blocks they need to manufacture deadly fentanyl.”
“Today’s announcement is a down payment on our pledge to use every tool in the government’s arsenal, in every corner of the globe, to protect American communities,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “The Justice Department will not rest or relent in investigating and prosecuting every link of the fentanyl supply chain, including the PRC companies and executives who produce and export vast quantities of the precursor chemicals the drug cartels need to peddle their poison. There can be no safe haven.”
“Today’s announcement is a considerable step forward in our unrelenting fight against fentanyl, targeting the threat where it starts,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “These companies and individuals are alleged to have knowingly supplied drug traffickers, in the United States and Mexico, with the ingredients and scientific know-how needed to make fentanyl – a drug that continues to devastate families and communities across the United States, killing Americans from all walks of life. Targeting entire criminal drug networks, from the source of supply to the last mile of distribution, is critical to saving American lives. DEA will not stop until this crisis ends.”
Southern District of New York
An indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of New York charging 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. Wang and Chen, both nationals of China, were expelled from Fiji on June 8, arrested by the DEA, and presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wes Reber Porter in Honolulu federal court on June 9. Wang and Chen were ordered detained in Honolulu and will appear in Manhattan federal court following their arrival in the Southern District of New York. Yang, also a national of China, 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.”
According to the allegations contained in the indictment and other court filings, Amarvel Biotech is a chemical manufacturer based in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei province, China, that has exported vast quantities of the precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl and its analogues.
Amarvel Biotech has openly advertised online its shipment of fentanyl precursor chemicals to the United States and to Mexico, where drug cartels operate clandestine laboratories, synthesize finished fentanyl at scale, and distribute the deadly fentanyl into and throughout the United States. Through its website and a host of other storefront sites, Amarvel Biotech has targeted precursor chemical customers in Mexico, including by advertising fentanyl precursors as a “Mexico hot sale;” guaranteeing “100% stealth shipping” abroad; and posting to its websites documentation of Amarvel Biotech shipping chemicals to Culiacan, Mexico, the home city of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the dominant drug trafficking organizations in the Western Hemisphere and which is largely responsible for the massive influx of fentanyl into the United States in recent years.
Amarvel Biotech has also endeavored to thwart law enforcement interdiction of its precursor chemical shipments. Amarvel Biotech has advertised, for example, the company’s ability to use deceptive packaging – such as packaging indicating the contents are dog food, nuts, or motor oil – to ensure “safe” delivery to the United States and Mexico.
Over the past eight months, during an undercover investigation by the DEA, Amarvel Biotech and its principal executive, Wang, its marketing manager, Chen, and its sales representative, Yang, shipped more than 200 kilograms from China to the United States of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl and its analogues. Amarvel Biotech, Wang, Chen, and Yang shipped the precursors to the United States intending that the chemicals would be used to produce fentanyl and its analogues in New York, and they agreed to continue supplying multi-ton shipments of fentanyl precursors despite being told that Americans had died after consuming fentanyl made from the chemicals that the defendants had sold.
For example, on or about Nov. 17, 2022, a DEA confidential source (CS-1) wrote to Yang using an encrypted messaging application, “You know I making fentanyl,” and “Is not safe.” Yang replied, “I know.” On or about Dec. 1, 2022, Yang wrote to CS-1, promising that CS-1 would be “happy with our product” and noting that CS-1 would “be able to synthesize fentanyl.” In exchange for payment in cryptocurrency, Amarvel Biotech thereafter shipped from China to New York approximately 999.7 grams of the fentanyl precursor 1-boc-4-AP, approximately 1,002.6 grams of the fentanyl precursor 1-boc-4-piperidone, and approximately 893.6 grams of the methamphetamine precursor methylamine.
In or about March 2023, Wang and Chen met in person with an individual whom CS-1 represented was CS-1’s boss but was in fact another DEA confidential source (CS-2). During the meeting, Wang and Chen discussed Amarvel Biotech’s ability to supply ton-quantities of fentanyl precursors to New York for CS-1 and CS-2’s fentanyl manufacturing operation. After CS-2 stated that CS-2 wanted a different formula for manufacturing fentanyl and that several of CS-2’s American customers had purportedly died, Wang and Chen advised they had “a lot of customers in America and Mexico” who could provide technical assistance with fentanyl production.
After March 2023, Amarvel Biotech, Wang, Chen, and Yang agreed to sell CS-1 and CS-2 approximately 210 kilograms of fentanyl precursors in exchange for payment in cryptocurrency. During an April 10 video call with Wang and Chen, CS-2 stated that the approximately 210 kilograms of fentanyl precursors would be used to manufacture approximately 50 to 55 kilograms of fentanyl – an amount that, as noted above, could contain approximately 25 million deadly doses.
In or about May 2023, Amarvel Biotech, Wang, Chen, and Yang sent to the United States the shipment ordered by CS-1 and CS-2. On or about May 5, the DEA retrieved the precursor shipment from a warehouse near Los Angeles. Lab testing confirmed the presence of a precursor chemical for a fentanyl analogue. In an encrypted messaging group chat with CS-1, CS-2, Wang, and Chen, Yang explained that “New York, the United States, has been strict in checking the precursors of the ‘final product’ some time ago, so for the sake of safety, this time it is sent to California.”
In or about June 2023, Wang and Chen met again with CS-2. During the meeting, Wang and Chen discussed with CS-2 a multi-ton order of fentanyl precursor chemicals. Wang and Chen also discussed the need to take additional measures to protect themselves from detection and interdiction of their shipments “because recently American government . . . seized some Mexican group and they followed the routes to China,” where the U.S. Government found “our competitor in China” – an apparent reference to fentanyl-related charges filed in the Southern District of New York and announced in April 2023 against, among others, leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel and certain China-based precursor chemical company executives.
DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit investigated the case, with assistance from the DEA Bangkok Country Office, DEA Wellington Country Office, DEA Beijing Country Office, DEA Honolulu District Office, DEA New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), DEA Riverside District Office, DEA Special Testing Laboratory, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Royal Thai Police Narcotics Suppression Bureau, the Fiji Police Force Narcotic Bureau, the Fiji Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii.
The Southern District of New York’s Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit is prosecuting the case.
Eastern District of New York
Two indictments were unsealed in the Eastern District of New York that detail criminal conspiracies by companies and employees based in China to manufacture and 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. The indictment also charges Rencheng, Wang, and Ruan with conspiracy to distribute butonitazene, a controlled substance.
The second indictment 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.
“As alleged, the defendants knowingly distributed the chemical building blocks of fentanyl to the United States and Mexico, even providing advice on how they should be used to manufacture this dangerous drug which inflicts untold tragedy in New York City, Long Island, and across the nation,” said U.S Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “This prosecution shows that the companies and individuals who fuel our nation’s deadly opioid epidemic – wherever they are located – will be found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
As alleged in the indictments, the defendant companies supplied precursor chemicals to the United States and Mexico, among other places, knowing they would be used to manufacture fentanyl. The defendant companies openly advertised their products all over the world, including to the United States and Mexico, on social media platforms. They also sent their chemical products to the United States and Mexico by boat and by air, using public and private international mail and package carriers. To prevent detection and interception of chemical products at the borders, the defendant companies employed deceptive and fraudulent practices, such as mislabeling packages, falsifying customs forms, and making false declarations at border crossings. The chemicals distributed by the defendants included all the materials necessary to manufacture fentanyl via the most common pathways.
The defendant companies attempted to obfuscate their distribution of fentanyl precursors by adding “masking” molecules, which slightly alter the chemical signature of the underlying precursor chemicals. By changing the chemical signature, an altered substance could evade testing protocols and relevant regulations by appearing to be a new substance. Such masking molecules are easily removed, thus enabling the purchaser to return the substance to its original form as a fentanyl precursor. The defendant companies not only produced and distributed masked precursors, but also provided instructions about how to remove the masking molecules upon receipt, thus helping their customers to more effectively obtain banned precursors and produce fentanyl. The defendants also gave instructions on how to improve fentanyl yield and advice on which chemicals to buy to replace banned precursor products.
Mexican drug trafficking organizations, including but not limited to the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), have increasingly availed themselves of the fentanyl precursors and masked fentanyl precursors developed and distributed by the defendant companies and companies like them. The chemicals provided by the defendant companies have enabled such cartels and other drug trafficking organizations to produce fentanyl in clandestine laboratories in Mexico on a massive scale, for subsequent distribution in the United States and elsewhere. The materials and instructions provided by the defendant companies and companies like them have directly caused and contributed to the influx of deadly fentanyl into the United States.
DEA New York, DEA Mexico, DEA Diversion Control Division, DEA Special Testing and Research Laboratory, U.S. Customs and Border Protection New York Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation New York Division, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service New York investigated the case. The New York City Police Department, the New York State Police, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance on the case.
The Eastern District of New York’s Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section is prosecuting the case.
This effort is part of an OCDETF operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law