Free Republic

Money laundering isn’t new — and neither is China’s role in it. Millennia ago, Chinese merchants developed schemes to “clean” the profits of commercial trade and avoid taxation. Today, their successors are doing much the same. Only now, they’re laundering billions through the U.S. financial system and fueling one of the deadliest fentanyl-fueled drug crises in American history. In a step in the right direction, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (known as FinCEN) issued a sweeping advisory on Aug. 28 warning that Chinese money laundering networks now represent “one of the most significant money laundering threat actors facing...

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Judge Jeanine Pirro said on Fox News Thursday that federal authorities seized one of the largest drug precursor shipments ever headed for the Sinaloa Cartel. The Trump administration ramped up its cartel crackdown after President Donald Trump authorized military strikes Tuesday, with the latest operation off Venezuela’s coast killing 11 alleged Tren de Aragua members. In an appearance on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” Pirro said her office — working with Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, and the DEA — intercepted 1,300 barrels of methamphetamine precursors shipped from Shanghai and bound for...

An international law enforcement operation called Operation Box Cutter has shut down a major criminal enterprise that was supplying precursor drugs that were used in the manufacture of fentanyl. FBI Director Kash Patel announced that 22 Chinese nationals, four Chinese pharmaceutical companies, and three Americans had been arrested in what Patel referred to as an "unprecedented" operation. "We're done playing whack-a-mole," Patel said during a press conference in Cincinnati. "We didn't arrest a couple of people. We charged an enterprise-wide system in mainland China to include dozens of individuals and banks and companies that are responsible for making these lethal...

Two congressmen are reaching across the aisle in try to stop nitazenes — a deadly new Narcan-resistant synthetic opioid that is already causing a “new wave” of overdose deaths. The Nitazene Control Act, introduced by Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA) and Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA), seeks to get ahead of the problem by legally classifying it as a drug with no medical use and high overdose risk. The bill would also close a loophole that allows some versions of the drug to fall outside laws banning synthetic opioids.

New bodycam footage shows a Berkeley County deputy jumping into action to save the female deputy who suddenly collapsed. "A female deputy then searched the woman’s person and the report states the deputy found a clear plastic bag that contained an unknown substance in one side of the driver’s bra and a folded-up dollar bill that also contained an unknown substance in the other side," reported WCSC. The male deputy was seen rushing to the cruiser to grab Narcan, which he then administered to the female deputy. The deputy was taken to the hospital and later released.

Rather than extending lifespan, daily multivitamin use is linked to a 4 percent higher risk of death, according to a large study of healthy U.S. adults conducted by the National Cancer Institute.The 2024 study challenges the common belief that multivitamins improve health and longevity, even as nearly one in three U.S. adults takes them with those hopes in mind.About the StudyLed by Dr. Erikka Loftfield, the study published in JAMA Network Open, sheds light on the effects of multivitamin (MV) use on longevity and questions the benefits of these popular supplements.Drawing data from three extensive cohort studies, the research followed...

Grapefruit and its close relatives can increase the blood levels of certain drugs and cause serious side effects. Affected drugs include some medications for blood pressure and heart rhythm, among others. Grapefruit is a delicious citrus fruit with many health benefits. However, it can interact with some common medications, altering their effects on your body. If you’re curious about the grapefruit warning on many medicines, this article will help you understand why it’s there and what your options are. Here’s a closer look at 31 common drugs that may have dangerous interactions with grapefruit, as well as some alternatives. Note:...

Axios article: Illegal border crossings hit decades-low amid Trump hardline crackdown Axios says the reason may be: The data suggest that President Trump’s hardline immigration approach — especially along the U.S.-Mexico border — may be achieving its goal, even as the administration has not stopped all noncitizens without papers from entry. The Washington Post article: The mysterious drop in fentanyl seizures on the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. officials are confronting a new and puzzling reality at the Mexican border….

A woman who appeared on MTV’s “16 and Pregnant” was arrested Monday in Georgia on charges including involuntary manslaughter related to a man’s death by fentanyl poisoning earlier this year. Whitney Purvis, 33, was being held without bond in the Floyd County Jail in Rome, Georgia, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northwest of Atlanta, according to online jail records. The arrest is tied to the February death of a man named John Mark Harris. An arrest warrant accuses Purvis of giving Harris a combination of xylazine and fentanyl known as “Tranq” that led to an overdose, according to TMZ. The...

The death of a mother and Army veteran whose body was found at a homeless encampment in Los Angeles was ruled an accident and due to drug use. On May 12, Lucrecia Macias Barajas, 46, was found dead inside a sidewalk tent that was reportedly locked in the Westlake District near downtown L.A. Inside the tent were the bodies of Barajas and a man, now identified as Fredy Pojoy Sajqui, 39. The nature of their relationship was unclear. On July 9, the L.A. County medical examiner’s office announced both Barajas and Sajqui died from the effects of fentanyl and methamphetamine....

WHAT HAPPENED: Mexico’s government is defending three financial institutions accused by the U.S. Treasury Department of laundering cartel money and facilitating payments for fentanyl precursors to China. 👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Mexico’s Secretariat of Treasury and Public Credit (SHCP), the U.S. Department of the Treasury, CIBanco SA, Intercam SA, and Vector Casa De Bolsa. 📍WHEN & WHERE: Mexico’s SHCP issued a statement this week. 💬KEY QUOTE: “Financial facilitators like CIBanco, Intercam, and Vector are enabling the poisoning of countless Americans by moving money on behalf of cartels, making them vital cogs in the fentanyl supply chain.” — Secretary of the Treasury...

The Washington Post has said that a massive drop in fentanyl seizures at the southern border is "mysterious" and that it is a "more complex" story than one would think after President Donald Trump has made it a point to crack down on border security as well as fentanyl trafficking into the US. The outlet suggested that the Trump administration's policies, such as threatening tariffs on China as well as Mexico to curb fentanyl, could have little to do with the drop in fentanyl, and claimed, "New data suggest a more complex story." This year, there has been a marked...

In a rare moment of honesty from the left, retiring Democrat Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado is sounding the alarm — not about Republicans, but about the crumbling state of his own party. During a CNN interview on Sunday, Bennet torched the Democratic brand, admitting what millions of Americans already know: today’s Democratic Party is out of touch, unpopular, and fundamentally failing. . . . Bennet, who is positioning himself for a gubernatorial run in Colorado in 2026, didn’t hold back. He expressed “fury” at his party’s inability to defeat Trump, even after years of media smears, endless investigations, and...

A former flight attendant caught smuggling over 100 pounds of a deadly new synthetic drug made of human bones faces up to 25 years in a Sri Lankan prison.Charlotte May Lee, 21, from the United Kingdom, was seized at Bandaranaike Airport in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo earlier this month after allegedly carrying suitcases full of "kush," a new[-ish] drug originating in West Africa which kills an estimated dozen people a week in Sierra Leone alone.

A psychoactive drug made from human bones is leaving addicts digging up graves in order to get their fix. Police officers are guarding cemeteries in Freetown, Sierra Leone, after more people are turning to the drug Kush. It is made from a variety of toxic substances, with one of its main ingredients is ground-up human bone. Human remains contain traces of sulphur, which allegedly can enhance the affects of drugs. It first emerged in the country around six years ago and induces a hypnotic high which can last for several hours. One former user Abu Bakhar, 25, told Channel 4...

Sierra Leone has declared a national emergency over a psychoactive drug made from human bones. The country has witnessed a sharp spike in abuse of the drug, kush, forcing police officers to guard cemeteries in the capital of Freetown, to stop young men from digging up skeletons to get high. Kush is a drug made from a variety of substances, including toxic chemicals, herbs, cannabis, disinfenctant but one of its main ingredients is ground-up human bone, as they contain traces of sulphur, which allegedly can enhance the drugs effect. In a nationwide broadcast yesterday, Sierra Leone's President Bio said: 'Our...

Patel’s warning echoes The Bureau’s exclusive reporting on a criminal convergence linking CCP-backed chemical suppliers, Iranian proxies, and Mexican cartels operating through Vancouver superlabs. WASHINGTON — In an explosive Sunday interview that will place tremendous pressure on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new Liberal government, FBI Director Kash Patel alleged that Mexican cartels, Chinese Communist Party operatives, and Iranian threat actors have forged a new axis of criminal cooperation, using Canada’s porous northern border and the Port of Vancouver—not the southern Mexican border—as their preferred entry point to flood fentanyl and terror suspects into the United States. “In the first two,...

Trump Administration Moves to Block the U.S. Travel of Mexican Politicians Who It Says Are Linked to the Drug Trade The list of Mexicans who could be targeted for U.S. visa restrictions includes leaders of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s party, state governors and former Cabinet ministers. In what could be a significant escalation of U.S. pressure on Mexico, the Trump administration has begun to impose travel restrictions and other sanctions on prominent Mexican politicians whom it believes are linked to drug corruption, U.S. officials said. So far, two Mexican political figures have acknowledged being banned from traveling to the United States....

The First Opium War ended with China surrendering Hong Kong. The Second ended with China surrendering its dignity. Now, nearly two centuries later, the Third Opium War has just ended—and once again, China lost. But this time, they weren’t importing opium. They were exporting it. The Modern Opium: Fentanyl No sails. No gunboats. No treaties. Just chemicals—sent in barrels and disguised in powders—feeding a synthetic addiction that’s killed more Americans than all our wars combined. China didn’t need to invade. They simply flooded our streets. - Synthetic precursors shipped to Mexican cartels - Distribution routes subsidized by “strategic partnerships” -...

In another significant win for law enforcement, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced one of the largest fentanyl seizures in U.S. history, underscoring the ongoing efforts to combat the drug crisis plaguing American communities. The bust, which seized enough fentanyl to kill millions, is just another stark reminder of the deadly threat posed by illegal drug trafficking and the importance of a strong, border-focused strategy that was ignored during the Biden administration. On Tuesday, Bondi announced that authorities made one of the biggest fentanyl busts in U.S. history with the seizure of 11.5 kilos of the drug, including three million fentanyl...