Foreign influence can be a dangerous thing, even within U.S. borders. But the Justice Department is on top of things.
And the DOJ rooted out a deadly threat from this foreign adversary by making numerous arrests.
The Justice Department has cracked down on a massive drug trafficking ring straight out of Communist China, indicting 22 Chinese nationals and three Americans for flooding our streets with deadly fentanyl precursors. This “first-of-its-kind” operation exposes how Beijing’s operatives are directly fueling the opioid crisis that’s ripping apart American families and neighborhoods.
The federal grand jury in Ohio didn’t hold back, slamming dozens of defendants and four shady Chinese companies with charges of conspiring to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl mixtures and international money laundering.
FBI Director Kash Patel didn’t mince words in his statement: “Today’s announcement marks a first-of-its-kind international operation for the FBI targeting the fentanyl plague that has killed tens of thousands of Americans and indicting the companies and individuals in mainland China that manufacture the precursor chemicals fueling the destruction of our communities.”
Patel’s hitting the nail on the head—China’s been getting away with this for years, and now the FBI is stepping up to protect our homeland.
Prosecutors laid it out clear: these Chinese firms deployed a network of overseas nationals to cut deals with U.S. drug traffickers, shipping in cutting agents that stretch out the drugs for bigger profits. These additives get mixed into everything from cocaine to heroin and meth, turning small batches into massive hauls that devastate America’s towns.
The targeted companies read like a who’s who of China’s chemical underworld: Guangzhou Tengyue Chemical Company, Guangzhou Wanjiang Biotechnology Company, Hebei Hongjun New Material Technology Company, and Hebei Feilaimi Technology Company.
On the home front, the indicted Americans include Eric Michael Payne from Ohio and his girlfriend, Auriyon Tresan Rayford. Then there’s Ciandrea Bryne Davis from Atlanta, who’s accused of using crypto to funnel payments to these Chinese handlers for the cutting agents.
Payne allegedly snapped up multiple kilogram shipments from these so-called pharmacies in China, racking up at least 10 kilograms of fentanyl boosters since 2022. That stash could crank out up to 150 kilograms of street-ready fentanyl mixtures, enough to cause chaos on communities.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Dominick Gerace II pulled no punches: “Our indictment alleges that Chinese companies and affiliated foreign nationals intentionally and openly marketed, delivered, and exported to the United States controlled substances and other compounds that they knew would be used by domestic drug dealers to increase the yield and potency of fentanyl distributed in this country.”
He added, “As explained in court documents, these deadly drug mixtures were then sold directly into our communities here in southern Ohio.”
The list of Chinese defendants is a rogue’s gallery: Lihui Zhao, [name unknown], Shanhong Jiang, Yan Yang, Fengdi Zhang, Dehui Xia, Xing Wu Chen, Qing Lin Wang, Xiaojun Huang, Meixiang Yao, Zhanpeng Huang, Yuqing Feng, Dongjing Sun, Chengqi Nong, Tiduo Wei, Zhisong Nie, Jichao Zhu, Zhengzhe Yin, Changgen Du, Hongfei Wang, Huatao Yao, and Xuening Gao. These names represent the faces behind the fentanyl floodgates.
American patriots are fed up with watching their kids succumb to this Chinese-manufactured plague. Indictments like this show that when America is put first, we can start dismantling these international cartels that thrive on suffering.
But let’s be real—this is just the tip of the iceberg. China’s been playing this game for years, using economic warfare disguised as “business” to undermine the United States’s sovereignty and weaken its resolve.
The involvement of cryptocurrency in the payments highlights how modern tech is being twisted by criminals to evade justice. Davis’s alleged role in crypto transactions highlights the need for tighter controls on digital currencies that too often shield foreign threats.
Ohio’s communities, already battered by economic hardships, now face this imported poison head-on. It’s no coincidence that heartland states like this are ground zero for the opioid epidemic, thanks to lax trade deals that favor China over American workers.
Finally, with leaders like Patel at the helm, we’re seeing a shift toward real enforcement. This indictment sends a message to Beijing: your days of poisoning America without consequences are numbered.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
