US announces record seizure of drug precursors 'from China'

Washington [US], September 4: US federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro announced on September 3 that the country had seized more than 300,000 kg of methamphetamine precursors en route from China to the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico.
"This is the largest seizure of methamphetamine precursors in US history," District of Columbia prosecutor Jeanine Pirro told reporters at the port of Houston in Texas, according to AFP.
Pirro made the announcement in a warehouse filled with 13,000 plastic-wrapped blue barrels, which she said were shipped from Shanghai, China, on two separate ships and were headed to Sinaloa drug cartel labs in Mexico when they were seized "on the high seas" last week.
"Foreign law enforcement partners" assisted U.S. agents in assembling the shipments in Panama and bringing them to Houston, according to acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons.
Lyons added that the Trump administration's designation of the Sinaloa cartel as a foreign terrorist organization has given federal agencies the ability to track drug precursors before they enter U.S. territory.
"Every day, tons of chemicals used to manufacture synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and fentanyl are shipped from China to Mexico in China's covert war against the United States and its citizens," Pirro said.
There is currently no information about China's reaction to Ms. Pirro's statement.
The seizure of methamphetamine precursors was announced a day after President Trump announced that US forces had attacked a drug trafficking vessel off the coast of Venezuela, killing 11 "narco-terrorists" in international waters.
The attack marked a major escalation in US action after President Trump signed an executive order authorizing military action against drug cartels, according to AFP.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged on September 3 that the US would step up attacks on drug gangs, but also assured Mexico that the US would respect Mexican sovereignty.
Earlier this week, the US Treasury Department sanctioned a Chinese chemical company, Guangzhou Tengyue, for allegedly being involved in the production and sale of synthetic opioids to Americans, according to AFP.
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control also sanctioned two individuals associated with Guangzhou Tengyue, Huang Xiaojun and Huang Zhanpeng, for allegedly being directly involved in the illegal trafficking of narcotics into the US. The sanctions will freeze any assets they have in the US.
Drug overdose is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45, and companies in China are the main source of chemicals used to manufacture illegal drugs into the US, AFP reported, citing US officials.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper