U.S. imposes sanctions on 3 Chinese citizens

Trio suspected of fentanyl trafficking

The U.S. Treasury Department has announced sanctions against three Chinese citizens accused of bringing the deadly opioid fentanyl into the United States.

Two of those three are a father and son who were indicted on charges in the U.S. District Court of Northern Ohio in Cleveland last year.

Fujing Zheng and his father Guanghua Zheng were charged with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to import controlled substances into the United States, operating a continued criminal enterprise, money laundering and other crimes. Both are residents of Shanghai.

The Treasury Department’s Foreign Assets Control and Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced “coordinated actions to bring additional financial pressure upon those who manufacture, sell, or distribute synthetic opioids or their precursor chemicals.”

OFAC identified Fujing Zheng and the Zheng Drug Trafficking Organization as “significant foreign narcotics traffickers pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, according to a news release from the Treasury Department.

Fujing Zheng and the Zheng Drug Trafficking Organization are accused of manufacturing and distributing hundreds of controlled substances including fentanyl analogues such as carfentanil, acetyl fentanyl, and furanyl fentanyl. They’re accused of shipping drugs to 47 states and 25 countries.

Zheng allegedly created and maintained numerous websites to advertise and sell illegal drugs in more than 35 languages. The organization “touted its ability to create custom-ordered drugs and avoid detection from customs and law enforcement officials when shipping the drugs through express mail and the U.S. Postal Service,” according to the Treasury Department.

The organization allegedly laundered its drug proceeds in part by using digital currency such as bitcoin, transmitted drug proceeds into and out of bank accounts in China and Hong Kong, and bypassed currency restrictions and reporting requirements.

In addition to the Zhengs, Xiaobing Yan is also being targeted by the Treasury Department. Yan is facing charges in U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute multiple controlled substances, including fentanyl, as well as manufacturing and distributing the drugs in specific instances.

Despite facing charges in the United States, the three men have remained free in China according to Reuters, citing a U.S. Congressional Research Service report from December 2018.

“As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of these individuals and entities that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC,” the Treasury Department’s news release stated. “OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons.”

Fentanyl has been a contributor to the unprecedented level of drug overdose deaths seen in the United States over the past few years. Ohio among the hardest hit by the synthetic opioid. Fentanyl and its analogues contributed to more than 70 percent of all drug overdose deaths that year, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Lake County’s figures were similar. In 2017, 65 of the county’s 93 unintentional drug overdose deaths involved a fentanyl-related substance. Lake County Crime Lab Supervisor of Chemistry and Toxicology Doug Rohde said his lab has seen a decrease in opioid submissions so far this year, but they’re still identifying new fentanyl analogs every month.

Although fentanyl can be legally prescribed to treat severe pain, the majority of the fentanyl that has contributed to overdose crisis comes from outside of the United States from places like China, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.