EXCLUSIVE: In a significant legal move, six individuals from China and two pharmaceutical firms based in the country have been accused of distributing chemical precursors used to produce fentanyl, which was intended for illicit entry into the United States. They are also accused of collaborating with a Mexican drug cartel, as revealed by the Justice Department.
The indictment was issued by a federal grand jury in Dayton, Ohio, naming Shandong Believe Chemical Company and Shandong Ranhang Biotechnology, alongside individuals Hanson Zhao, Gao Yanpeng, Xia Yi, Zhang Jian, Wang Zhoalan, and Zhang Chunhai.
This legal action is part of Operation Box Cutter, an initiative led by the FBI involving multiple agencies to dismantle the global network supplying fentanyl precursors. The operation benefited from intelligence sharing with China’s Ministry of Public Security, according to officials.
Both pharmaceutical companies and the six Chinese nationals face charges related to a conspiracy involving fentanyl, as stated by the Justice Department. ((Photo credits: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg via Getty Images and Thomas Simonetti/Bloomberg via Getty Images))
FBI Director Kash Patel expressed to Fox News Digital that “Operation Box Cutter marks an unprecedented triumph with unique indictments, including charges of material support for terrorism. This initiative is a pivotal component of the FBI’s nationwide effort to combat the fentanyl epidemic.” He highlighted the significant cooperation with Chinese counterparts following last year’s landmark discussions aimed at disrupting the supply of precursors and tackling the fentanyl crisis.
The accused companies allegedly engaged Zhao, Yanpeng, Yi, Jian, Zhoalan, and Chunhai to reach out to U.S. clients, negotiate deals, and process payments for illicit cutting agents.
From July 2025 through January 2026, the companies allegedly used the six defendants to openly market, sell and deliver various chemical precursors intended for domestic and foreign drug traffickers to make fentanyl destined for the U.S.
The U.S. customers were directed to pay for the agents using cryptocurrency transferred to crypto wallets, with the funds ultimately being deposited into foreign financial institutions, federal prosecutors said.
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice. (Daniel Heuer/AFP via Getty Images)
The defendants allegedly conspired to manufacture and distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl mixture. In addition, three defendants allegedly also sold chemical precursors and medetomidine to a member of the Cártel del Golfo, also known as the Gulf Cartel, which has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department.
Throughout the operation, China’s Ministry of Public Security provided the FBI with intelligence that helped “advance our understanding” and investigation of Shandong Believe Chemical Company and its criminal network, Joe Perez, the FBI operations director, said in a statement.
“Thanks to that collaboration, these indictments will serve as an important message to all those who engage in similar conduct that the FBI will bring them to justice,” he said.
Drug traffickers use chemical precursors to manufacture fentanyl and other substances known as “cut” to increase the quantity of doses available for sale, the Justice Department said.
Fentanyl is often cut with medetomidine, an animal tranquilizer up to 200 times more powerful than morphine, authorities said. Medetomidine can increase the yield of a single kilogram of fentanyl at least twenty-fold, producing millions of dosages for street level sales, officials said.
China began tightening fentanyl precursor controls following Patel’s visit to the country last year in which he held discussions with his Chinese counterparts and Chinese government officials.
“This was a historic trip for the FBI and America’s national security – the first time in a decade that an FBI Director has been to China and received an audience with his counterpart to discuss the fentanyl crisis,” Patel said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital at the time.
He noted that the crisis doesn’t start at the southern border, but rather with the flow of chemical precursors and the networks that move them.
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