The United States imposed sanctions on Chinese painkiller makers on Wednesday in an effort to curb the epidemic that caused a record 100,000 deaths in the United States last year. Due to the increasing number of people who are addicted, turning to cheaper drugs purchased online from overseas, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that will make it easier to target foreign drug traffickers.
Additionally, Biden created the US Council on Transnational Organized Crime, which will coordinate between departments to combat transnational crime. By signing the executive order, President Biden allows the United States to target foreign drug makers directly rather than target cartels and other criminal organizations, which were historically the focus of US efforts.
Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, says the action ‘will disrupt the global supply chain and financial networks that enable synthetic opioids and precursor chemicals to reach the United States. Treasury Department sanctions were imposed on four chemical companies in China and Chuen Fat Yip, which it described as ‘one of the largest, if not the largest, producers of anabolic steroids in the world’.
The State Department is also offering a reward of up to $5 million for the arrest of Chuen, who is believed to reside in Wuhan. Dallas prosecutors reported that US authorities seized bitcoin equivalent to $2.3 million traced to Chuen earlier this month. During a five-year period, his company produced almost $280 million worth of anabolic steroids and shipped fentanyl ingredients all over the world.
A Mexican drug group and a Brazilian drug group were also sanctioned by the Treasury Department. In light of the sanctions, any assets that the groups and Chuen may have in the United States will be blocked, and any transactions from the United States will be criminalized. Recent years have seen an increase in painkiller addiction due to online purchases of fake painkillers and smuggled drugs from overseas.
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Over 100,000 Americans died of overdoses of painkillers in the year through April. As a result, they became readily available to people in need because of the pharmaceutical industry’s enthusiastic promotion of their use. Mexican drug traffickers are producing more fentanyl tablets and exporting them to the United States, but a 2020 report said most of the material is made in China. Some of this material is shipped directly to Mexico.
According to the report, India, known for its pharmaceutical industry, is also becoming a source of illicit painkillers. China banned fentanyl in April 2019 after heavy pressure from the United States. However, Chinese manufacturers soon began selling precursors to fentanyl. Reports published last year by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies indicate that these precursors are not banned and usually have legal uses. The report notes that Chinese sellers often sell the ingredients openly on the web, thus ensuring credibility and customers.
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