Posted on: December 20, 2024 02:55 PM

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International drug traffickers indicted on charges of importing and distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine precursor chemicals

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said: “Those responsible for flooding our country with fentanyl must answer for their crimes.  These three international chemical brokers are charged with conspiring to send fentanyl and methamphetamine precursor chemicals into the United States -- now they will face justice in an American courtroom.”

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said: “Today’s actions reflect our commitment to holding accountable those who peddle the poison responsible for fentanyl deaths in our communities, including those who import the precursor chemicals needed to manufacture these deadly drugs.  No matter where in the world these individuals operate, the Department will find them and bring them to justice.”

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said: “Today’s announcement of charges against three high-level fentanyl chemical brokers highlights DEA’s commitment to attack every part of the global fentanyl supply chain.  The defendants indicted today brokered ton-quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine precursor chemicals from China, knowing that these chemicals would be used to flood American communities with deadly drugs.  These defendants also coached drug traffickers on how to use different precursor chemicals to make finished fentanyl destined for the United States.  Today’s indictment should serve as a warning to drug traffickers operating across the globe that DEA will stop at nothing to save American lives and bring those responsible to justice.”

As alleged in the Indictment, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings:[1]

Fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat that the U.S. has ever encountered. It is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49.  Fentanyl analogues, similar in chemical makeup and effect to fentanyl, can be even more potent and lethal than fentanyl.  Fentanyl and its analogues have ruined countless lives, devastated entire communities, and killed Americans at an unprecedented rate.

The manufacture of fentanyl and its analogues begins with raw chemicals, known as precursors.  Today, fentanyl precursor chemicals are principally sourced from China-based chemical manufacturers.  These China-based chemical manufacturers ship fentanyl-related precursor chemicals around the world, including to the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere, where clandestine laboratories use the precursor chemicals to synthesize finished fentanyl and fentanyl analogues at scale, and distribute the deadly narcotics into and throughout the U.S.

Aware of sanctions placed on chemical precursors by the U.S. and other nations, Chinese manufacturers have adapted to create and export fentanyl precursor chemicals that are not yet banned, but that are specifically designed to imitate other prohibited chemicals or that can produce finished fentanyl and other drugs.  The chemists working at such factories pursue chemical modifications to create new chemical compounds not yet subject to controls but capable of producing novel versions of narcotics that are as deadly or more than fentanyl.  These new chemical compounds are marketed to international drug traffickers through broker networks with direct access to the chemical manufacturers, who take custom orders from buyers seeking to create fentanyl and evade customs and law enforcement agencies around the world.

XIANG GAO, OLEKSANDR KLOCHKOV, and IGORS KRICFALUSIJS are international drug traffickers who used their connections with China-based chemical manufacturers to broker deals for fentanyl and methamphetamine precursor chemicals for further distribution in the U.S. and elsewhere.  During this investigation, GAO, KLOCHKOV, and KRICFALUSIJS conspired to sell ton-quantities of fentanyl precursor chemicals; provided more than five kilograms of fentanyl precursor chemicals and more than 50 kilograms of methamphetamine precursor chemicals; and shipped those chemicals to New York, Austria, and Spain, intending that the chemicals would be used to manufacture fentanyl and methamphetamine in New York for further distribution there.

From DOJ