Us-beijing joint inquiry catches drug smugglers

China has imprisoned nine people on charges of smuggling fentanyl into the US, in the first such case of the two countries working together.

Fentanyl is a highly addictive and cheap synthetic opioid. It has played an increasingly central role in the US opioid crisis. China has faced criticism from the US for not doing enough to prevent the flow of the drug into the country. China denies it is the origin of most of the fentanyl and says the US must do more to reduce demand.