CHINA/DRUGS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: “The Justice Department said Tuesday [10-17-17] that it has indicted two Chinese nationals suspected of manufacturing and then distributing in the U.S. a synthetic opioid that officials say kills thousands of Americans every year.
The two suspects, Xiaobing Yan and Jian Zhang, face a raft of charges, including conspiracy to distribute large quantities of fentanyl and drugs with a similar chemical makeup in the U.S. through the mail or international delivery services.
Fentanyl is roughly 50 times more powerful than heroin, and it has become a significant factor in the opioid crisis ravaging the United States. In 2016 alone, some 20,000 Americans died because of fentanyl overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The drug is also a legal prescription painkiller…
The cases, he said, highlight a ‘new and disturbing trend’ in the opioid epidemic in the U.S. He said fentanyl and its analogues are entering the country in several ways, including shipments from labs in China directly to American customers who buy the drugs on the Internet.
But it was not immediately clear what impact the indictments will have on the efforts to stem the flow into the U.S. of illegal synthetics produced in China.”
-Ryan Lucas, “Justice Department Indicts 2 Chinese Nationals In Synthetic Opioid Case,” NPR, Oct. 17, 2017 02:14pm