8-4-19 According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, almost 80 percent of fentanyl seized in 2017 was interdicted at U.S. Postal Service and express consignment carrier facilities, having been shipped in small quantities from China….
According to Homeland Security, more fentanyl in larger volumes is seized at land crossings, but the fentanyl seized from mail and express consignment carrier facilities is far more potent with purities of over 90 percent versus Mexico-sourced fentanyl that is often diluted to less than 10 percent….
China has grown to become the largest mass producer of generic drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients in the world with over 5,000 pharmaceutical manufacturers. Upwards of 90 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients used in U.S. production of finished dosage forms of medical pharmaceuticals is imported from just two countries: India and China….
With just a little over 2,000 inspectors Chinese authorities have little hope of effectively overseeing legal compliance, let alone spotting even a fraction of criminal activity.expand into more markets in the U.S., is very inexpensive, and, in contrast to behavior during the cocaine epidemic, evidence suggests that people won’t quit the substance after finding out how dangerous it is…. the ominous specter of a business model that has room to grow: easy, dispersed global production and low-cost shipping. …
A recent study observes that young adults are significantly raising their intake of stimulants and opioids, often while binge drinking.8 Polysubstance use is our new normal. This is in part why many experts stress the importance of starting prevention efforts early in life, preferably before the age of 12.9 We have to hope that a trend among the young10 to reject all tobacco, alcohol, and illicit substances grows and that some of our prevention, early intervention, enforcement, and other responses work. The current evidence is a dire warning, a brutal prediction of a drug epidemic building on epidemics of the past, and coming suffering on a massively expanded scale. However you characterize the current
fentanyl crisis, as a poison control problem or natural disaster or astoundingly bad drug epidemic, it’s one of the worst the country has ever experienced. https://www.addictionpolicy.org/blog/tag/research-you-can-use/fentanyl-crisis-getting-worse
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3-29-19 it is so far unclear why these groups have suddenly been singled out and given the status of potentially morphing into “cartels.” These are unsophisticated gangs made up of very young members engaging in petty crimes, and their future impact remains uncertain.
One possibility is that these delinquent groups merge together in order to survive potential threats presented by more powerful criminal organizations operating in Mexico City, as well as the pressure of being targeted by security forces.
These gangs appear to have a lot in common already. Members come from poorer neighborhoods with violent backgrounds, and the groups carry out the same types of low-profile criminal activities. It would make sense for them to join forces.
Such has been the case in central Guanajuato state. Formed in 2017 after the Jalisco Cartel — New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG) expanded into the area in order to take advantage of fuel theft, the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel banded together with other groups to fight back and has now emerged as a major criminal player in the area.
The other option is for these gangs to align themselves with more established criminal organizations operating in the capital, such as the Tláhuac Cartel or Unión de Tepito. This would allow the gangs to become part of more sophisticated criminal activities and could in turn strengthen the status and power of existing groups, ultimately posing a bigger threat to the city’s security situation.
However, it seems unlikely that such organizations are looking to add younger, violent members into their ranks, actions which would undoubtedly sound the alarm for authorities. https://www.insightcrime.org/news/brief/officials-sound-alarm-transformation-mexico-city-gangs/
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9-3-19 I received responses and soon began getting up at 4 am to chat with salespeople finishing up their workdays in cities like Shenzhen or Wuhan. Sitting before my laptop in the dark, Earl Grey mug warming my fingers, I took on the persona of “Johnny Webster,” a 20-something bro who looked like he’d be into mind expansion and had an avatar picture to match.
I asked them about the chemicals and the pricing, and they responded in pretty good English. “How much amount do you need?” asked a salesman named Jackie Jiang working for a Wuhan company called Health222chem, after I said I was interested in a drug called BUC-3. This was an obscure opioid; the company sold it because it had similar effects to fentanyl, but was still legal in China. “100g BUC-3 $900. We accept Bitcoin.” I also spoke with owners of black- and gray-market chemical companies, some of whom said they’d be willing to show me their labs. Soon I began connecting with translators and planning my trip.
This was starting to get real . I took comfort in the fact that guns are uncommon in China and these operations are not run by cartels or gangs but rather businesspeople focused solely on making money. -Ben Westhoff https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3kxdbb/how-i-infiltrated-a-chinese-drug-lab
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An accused fentanyl producer arrested by Mexican authorities earlier this year owns and operates several chemical companies, an investigation by Sayari has found. These companies could be channels for importing illegal fentanyl precursors into Mexico or diverting legal precursor chemicals into clandestine labs.
This case highlights the importance of conducting due diligence to identify the shareholders and officers of a potential customer. Effective use of public records in this case reveals these companies’ links to the manufacture of illicit drugs. Catching this risk early could help chemical companies avoid having their products diverted to illicit uses.
In June, Mexican law enforcement officials, in coordination with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, arrested Mexican national used the warehouse as a clandestine laboratory to produce fentanyl.
Jose Guadalupe Almaguer Herrera and seized a warehouse just outside the northern industrial city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. Following the arrest, Mexican authorities alleged that Almaguer Herrera
Media reporting has highlighted that Almaguer Herrera is a chemist and the owner of a chemical company located in the outskirts of Monterrey, Ampex Chemicals, S.A. de C.V. Mexican corporate records accessed through Sayari Search reveal that Almaguer Herrera is also a shareholder of at least four other chemical companies:
— Quantyka S.A. de C.V. (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico)
— Analytyka de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico)
— Procesos Quimicos Especializados, S.A. de C.V. (García, Nuevo Leon, Mexico)
— Comercializadora Don Peto, S.A. de C.V. (Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico)
All but one of the companies, Quantyka, are located near Monterrey.
Almaguer Herrera is a 50 percent shareholder of all four companies. He also serves as the administrator for Quantyka, Analytyka de Mexico, and Comercializadora Don Peto. https://sayari.com/blog/mexican-fentanyl-producer-chemical-companies/
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12-10-19 "Nationwide it is likely that a dozen Purdue Pharma (Connecticut-based, markets and sells OxyContin) patients die of overdoses every day," the group of non-consenting states wrote. "Unless effective measures are taken, thousands of Purdue patients will die of overdoses during this case."
In September, Purdue filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York and announced that it had agreed to a roughly $10 billion settlement with 24 state attorneys general. Healey, who filed the first state lawsuit against individual members of the company's controlling Sackler family, opposed any settlement that does not require the Sacklers to forfeit some of the profits they counted from the sale of opioids and has formally opposed the bankruptcy petition.
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