FBI targets Chinese fentanyl suppliers in major international operation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is “targeting the fentanyl supply chain at its source,” and a recent operation led to the indictments of 22 Chinese nationals, four China-based chemical companies and three Americans.

“We’re done playing Whack-a-Mole,” FBI Director Kash Patel said during a press conference on Wednesday in Cincinnati, Ohio, adding that no other country besides the U.S. has a “fentanyl crisis.” 

Dubbed Operation Box Cutter, it has resulted in the seizure of “enough fentanyl powder to kill 70 million Americans and enough fentanyl pills to kill another 270,000,” Patel said in a statement.

The investigation started in Dayton, Ohio before expanding “all the way to mainland China, where chemical companies were openly marketing and selling dangerous precursor substances used to cut and manufacture fentanyl, cocaine and heroin,” according to a news release. 

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“Today’s takedown marks the FBI’s first-of-its-kind international operation targeting the fentanyl plague that has killed tens of thousands of Americans, indicting the companies and individuals in mainland China that manufacture the precursors fueling the destruction of our communities,” Patel’s statement said.

“We have indicted Chinese precursor companies and exposed their bank accounts and cryptocurrency pipelines and funding sources that facilitate this deadly trade,” his statement concluded. 

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Three of the four Chinese companies indicted are: Guangzhou Tengyue Chemical Company, Hubei Aoks Bio-Tech Company and Hanhong Pharmaceutical Technology Company.

Eric Payne of Tipp City is accused of buying “cutting agents” from Chinese companies and distributing them to dealers. His significant other, Auriyon Tresean Rayford, would then allegedly transfer cryptocurrency to the companies. Ciandrea Bryne Davis, who is not from Ohio, is accused of helping transfer funds, according to local TV station WCPO.