China-U.S. Collaboration Leads to Fentanyl Trafficking Convictions

Nov. 7, 2019 (EIRNS)—A Chinese court today handed down tough sentences against nine Chinese members of a fentanyl-trafficking gang, imposing a suspended death sentence on the ring-leader, life sentences for two others, and lesser prison terms for the rest. According to National Public Radio, U.S. authorities have carried out three “major criminal arrests” in New York and Oregon as part of the same case.

Chinese and American officials emphasized in a joint press conference after the sentencing, that this success was the result of the first joint investigation between their countries, and that such cooperation will continue.

“Combatting drug-related crimes is without borders,” said the deputy director of the China National Narcotics Control Commission Yu Haibin. He credited “the timely exchange of information, effective cooperation and mutual respect for the legal system of the other country,” for the operation’s success, China’s Global Times reported.

Austin Moore, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, likewise said that “the success of the joint operation demonstrates that Chinese and American investigators have the capacity to collaborate across international borders,” according to BBC.

From Washington, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Jim Carroll released a statement, calling “the concrete action taken by China ... a direct result of President Trump’s strong leadership on this issue.... We look forward to further cooperation to stop the flow of these deadly substances into the United States,” he stated. The ONDCP referenced specific forms of cooperation agreed upon by Carroll and Chinese authorities when they met in September in Beijing.

It is noteworthy that Yu emphasized that since fentanyl cannot be stopped “singlehandedly by any country, China is willing to cooperate with other countries to solve the worldwide problem.” The LaRouche Citizens’ Movement in Mexico has issued a call for China and Mexico to initiate cooperation against fentanyl trafficking, as China and the U.S. are doing, as one of four key measures required to crush the drug cartel apparatus which is killing Mexico.