The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently took a hard stance against five individuals living in China and Guatemala and two PRC-based companies. They are accused of being involved in supplying drug cartels with ingredients used to make opioids. Notably, one individual has been sanctioned for processing payments through a crypto wallet.

The accused individuals, Yao Huatao, Wu Yaqin, Wu Yonghao, Wang Hongfei, and Ana Gabriela Rubio Zea, are all accused of playing a role in the opioid production operations. For example, Yao Huatao is said to have overseen the sale of fentanyl precursors, while Wu Yaqin and Wu Yonghao acted as sales reps for the illicit operations. Ana Gabriela Rubio Zea is accused of buying the precursors for Mexican drug cartels from Wuhan Shuokang Biological Technology Co. Suzhuo Xiaoli Pharmatech Co. is accused of having shipped precursors to Mexico.

In a particularly significant accusation, Wang Hongfei is said to have owned a crypto wallet that was used to receive Bitcoin payments on behalf of the PRC-based firm. Crypto wallets are highly convenient, making it easy for criminals to send and receive payments anonymously.

The charges leveled at the individuals and two companies further shine a spotlight on the extent of the opioid crisis ravaging the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 71,941 of the 107,375 overdose deaths in the United States between 2021 and 2022 were caused by synthetic opioids, including fentanyl.

In light of this pressing issue, the U.S. government has prioritized reducing the number of precursors being smuggled from China into Mexico. The OFAC crackdown is a crucial step towards this goal, as it serves to disrupt funding for the production of opioids in the region.



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