U.S. Charges Chinese Companies and Nationals for Illegally Trafficking Chemicals to Produce Deadly Fentanyl

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against four Chinese chemical manufacturing companies and eight individuals for illegally trafficking chemicals used to make the powerful opioid fentanyl.
The charges represent the first time the U.S. has prosecuted Chinese companies responsible for manufacturing precursor chemicals for fentanyl.
The companies are accused of selling more than 200 kilograms of precursor chemicals to drug cartels in Mexico, enough to produce fentanyl doses that could kill 25 million people.
Two of the eight people charged have been arrested, and the U.S. is calling on China to hold the companies accountable.
Fentanyl overdoses have ravaged communities across the U.S., now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49.