The FBI is actively dismantling the fentanyl supply chain right at its origins. Their recent operation has led to charges against 22 Chinese nationals, four Chinese chemical companies, and three Americans.

“We’ve moved past playing Whack-a-Mole,” remarked FBI Director Kash Patel at a press conference held in Cincinnati, Ohio, emphasizing that the U.S. is uniquely facing a “fentanyl crisis.”

Operation Box Cutter has seen the confiscation of enough fentanyl powder to potentially kill 70 million Americans, alongside a significant volume of fentanyl pills capable of killing an additional 270,000 people, according to Patel’s statement.

The investigation initiated in Dayton, Ohio, and soon extended to mainland China, spotlighting chemical companies blatantly marketing and distributing hazardous precursor materials used to produce fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin, as detailed in a news announcement.