White House to business: Help stop fentanyl trafficking

Gives advice on how to limit flow

The White House on Wednesday sought to enlist the private sector in its effort to thwart the trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, which have become the main drivers of fatal overdoses nationally and locally.

Last year in the 10- county southwestern Pennsylvania region, fentanyl was a factor in at least 72% of the roughly 862 drug deaths, versus 44% for heroin and 38 percent for cocaine. Most fatal overdoses involve a combination of drugs.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy is asking businesses to better protect their supply chains from the possibility that traffickers could sneak packages of deadly fentanyl into otherwise-legitimate shipping.

The office issued advisories on how companies can identify signs of the manufacturing and transportation of synthetic opioids, their marketing online and financial transactions related to their trade.

The office also identified two Chinese nationals and one organization there “as significant foreign narcotics traffickers pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act,” according to officials.

The Chinese entities have shipped hundreds of packages of opioids into the United States, selling online and using commercial mail carriers, according to the release. The White House said the Kingpin designations will “inhibit” traffickers.

The federal government is using banking data to track the flow of proceeds from illicit drug smuggling into and out of the country, according to the release. Financial institutions can help in this effort, according to officials.

Drug deaths in the region dropped last year from the record 1,427 in 2017, returning to 2015 levels.