NEW YORK: A Chinese company executive has received a 25-year prison sentence for trafficking chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl.
Qingzhou Wang, the 37-year-old principal executive of Wuhan-based Amarvel Biotech, was convicted alongside marketing manager Yiyi Chen for fentanyl precursor importation and money laundering.
District Judge Paul Gardephe imposed the sentence on Friday following their February conviction in New York.
Chen received a 15-year prison term on August 22 for her role in the operation.
Drug Enforcement Administration chief Terrance Cole stated these executives transformed their chemical company into a pipeline of poison by shipping hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl-related precursors into the United States.
They disguised these chemicals as everyday goods and received payments through cryptocurrency transactions.
Wang and Chen were among eight Chinese nationals and four Chinese companies charged by the Justice Department in June 2023 with trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals.
This case marked the first time the United States charged Chinese companies for trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals directly into the country rather than shipping them to Mexico.
Fentanyl remains a synthetic opioid fifty times more powerful than heroin that has largely replaced heroin and prescription opioids as a primary cause of overdoses.
The 2023 indictment of Chinese executives and companies prompted strong protests from Beijing’s foreign ministry.
China condemned the charges as completely illegal and claimed they seriously damaged the basic human rights of Chinese citizens and companies.
Although Mexico serves as the main source of fentanyl sold in the United States, Washington has increasingly focused on China-based suppliers of precursor ingredients. – AFP