Silfra, IcelandUS Charges Chinese Companies & Employees for Conspiracy to Manufacture Fentanyl with CJNG & Sinaloa Cartels
Excerpt:
.....At the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, two indictments were unsealed that detail criminal conspiracies by companies and employees based in China to manufacture and distribute fentanyl in the United States. This prosecution is among the first ever in the United States to charge Chinese chemical manufacturing companies with supplying precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl to the United States.
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 including WhatsApp and Wickr. 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.
According to the indictments, the Chinese companies advertised the fentanyl precursor chemicals in the same manner as their other products. The company AMARVEL BIOTECH (AmarvelBio) had the controlled chemicals often labeled as “Hot Product” or “Mexican Hot Sale” and provided “100% Stealth Shipping.” They also advertised shipping to Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico on their site. The products would then be disguised in packaging for dog food, motor oil, or nuts to ensure “safe delivery.”
A Product News article on their website posted on April 3, 2023, featured several fentanyl precursors being available, featuring their chemical compounds and CAS registry number specifically identifying them as the controlled precursors. The posting further stated that their factory is in China and they offer shipping via a Mexico-based shipping company.
Following the April 2023 indictments against “Los Chapitos” the company internally communicated to better conceal their identities and avoided shipping chemicals to New York. This included their marketing manager cautioning employees to take additional steps to avoid being detected and acknowledging that one of their competitors had been “exposed by the American government.”
They further advertised that chemicals would be mislabeled so as to not be detected and offered customized packaging used for legal products and promised “100% customs clearance.” AmarvelBio. according to the indictment, has never shipped regulated chemicals to any properly registered company in the US.
.....Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu condemned the move as “a well-planned entrapment operation by the U.S. side, which seriously infringed upon the legitimate rights of relevant enterprises and individuals.” He said having such “long-arm jurisdiction” would create more obstacles for China-U.S. counter-narcotics cooperation.
The move came after Antony Blinken made the first visit to China by a U.S. Secretary of State in five years and said he had made clear that Washington needs much greater Chinese cooperation to stem the flow of fentanyl.
COMPANIES
ANHUI RENCHENG TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
Hefei City, Anhui Province, China
ANHUI MOKER NEW MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY CO. (MKE)
Luyang District, Hefei City, Anhui Province, China
Hefei GSK Trade Co., Ltd, also known as “Hebei Gesuke Trading Co. Ltd.” and “Hebei Sinaloa Trading Co., Ltd.” (GSK)
Shushan Economic Development Zone, Hefei City, Anhui Province, China
Hubei Amarvel Biotech Co., Ltd., (“Amarvel Biotech”)
Wuhan in Hubei Province, China
Silfra, IcelandCOMPANIES
ANHUI RENCHENG TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.
Hefei City, Anhui Province, China
ANHUI MOKER NEW MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY CO. (MKE)
Luyang District, Hefei City, Anhui Province, China
Hefei GSK Trade Co., Ltd, also known as “Hebei Gesuke
Trading Co. Ltd.” and “Hebei Sinaloa Trading Co., Ltd.” (GSK)
Shushan Economic Development Zone, Hefei City, Anhui Province, China
Hubei Amarvel Biotech Co., Ltd., (“Amarvel Biotech”)
Wuhan in Hubei Province, China
Tijuana FGE Employee Arrested in San Diego with Multiple Kilos of Cocaine
Translated excerpt:
Ana Sofia López Osuna, registered with the Baja California State Attorney General’s Office as Public Ministry, commissioned to the Tijuana regional prosecutor’s office, was apprehended in the United States, the information was confirmed by Edgar Mendoza, the head of the area.
According to the information received unofficially, López was not arrested crossing any of the checkpoints into the United States, but in the city of San Diego, with several kilos of a white powder believed to be cocaine.
Among her belongings, a credential that accredits her as an Agent of the Public Ministry in the Regional Prosecutor’s office was found. Authorities on both sides of the border have kept information regarding her apprehension limited.
.....Édgar Mendoza Razo, Regional Prosecutor in Tijuana, confirmed the arrest, although he said that he does not know the reasons behind it. It has been reported that she is the Regional Prosecutor’s assistant, but other sources have stated that she was part of the office’s administrative duties. According to the transparency data, she was involved in the Human Capital Directorate or the office’s HR department.