Unmasking companies would make opioid dealing less profitable

The president has declared what many of us experience firsthand, the opioid epidemic is a national emergency.

With as many as 59,000 deaths in 2016, there doesn’t seem to be any other possible description.

Dedicated people in cities and towns, faith communities and schools, families and hospitals are fighting to save lives and help people escape addiction.

But there are also a lot of people working to keep illegal opioids on the streets. With 2.6 million opioid addicts in the U.S., the scale of drug-running operations is immense, as are the profits. It’s not a mystery why the cartels build these operations, they do it for the money — and there is a lot of money to be had.

The Office of National Drug Control policy estimates that of the $65 billion spent on illegal drugs each year, about $1 billion, or 1.5 percent, is seized by all federal agencies combined.

We can and must stop that free flow of money, which, besides flooding our communities with cheap heroin, helps strengthen these criminal enterprises.

As the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control wrote in 2013: “(W)e have become convinced that we cannot stop the drug trade without first cutting off the money that flows to drug trafficking organizations.”

There are simple steps we can take now that go after that money. For starters, we must get rid of anonymous shell companies — companies formed with no way of knowing who owns or controls them.

One of the most dangerous chemicals associated with the opioid crisis is fentanyl — some 50 times more potent than heroin. Deaths from fentanyl overdoses are up 540 percent in the last three years.

Law enforcement has cataloged how fentanyl is often shipped to the U.S. from China. Sometimes the drugs or drug-making supplies are sent from, and addressed to, a set of anonymous companies.

These companies, which are not tied to the real owner, can open bank accounts, transfer money, and buy real estate. Requiring that all companies formed in the U.S. disclose their beneficial owners would enable law enforcement to follow the money trail. JOHN A. CASSARA AND NATHAN PROCTOR, WASHINGTON, D.C. Editor’s note: Cassara is a former Treasury special agent who investigated money laundering and terrorist financing. Proctor is a co-author of “Anonymity Overdose” and a national campaign director with Fair Share. They wrote this for American Forum.