1st US charges against China-based companies accused of selling fentanyl chemicals filed

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has for the first time charged China-based companies and employees with supplying chemicals needed to make fentanyl, a primary driver of an overdose crisis gripping the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday that the companies openly advertised the chemicals on social media platforms and shipped them surreptitiously to buyers, even adding molecules to evade testing. Two of the eight people charged have been arrested in the Drug Enforcement Administration investigation into four companies, which also seized over 200 kilograms of precursor chemicals. The charges include fentanyl trafficking, precursor chemical importation and money laundering.