(The Center Square) – The Department of Justice took two major actions in the fight against fentanyl manufacturing and distribution, including indicting a Chinese national and arresting two top Sinaloa Cartel members, all in Texas.
On July 22, the DOJ announced Chinese national Minsu Fang, 48, was indicted for his role in a conspiracy to import what is believed to be the largest amount of fentanyl precursors seized in the Southern District of Texas and among the largest in the country.
On July 25, the DOJ announced it also apprehended two alleged top leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most violent drug trafficking transnational criminal organizations in the world. One is the cartel’s cofounder, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, one of the most wanted fugitives in the world who eluded law enforcement for over 40 years.
El Mayo, cofounded the cartel with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is currently incarcerated in a maximum-security prison. El Chapo’s son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, was also arrested on Friday, after reportedly turning in El Mayo in what has been described as “a once-in-a-lifetime caper.” After El Chapo’s arrest and a void for power emerged, cartel infighting ensued and violence has erupted along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Despite claims to the contrary by outgoing Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Congress, federal, state and local authorities have found that the Sinaloa Cartel and China are fueling the fentanyl crisis in the U.S., The Center Square has reported. After receiving fentanyl precursors from China, cartel operatives make the illicit drugs in Mexico and then orchestrate their smuggling and trafficking into the U.S.
Fang, also known as Fernando, was charged on four counts for allegedly importing more than 2,000 kilograms of fentanyl precursors, “enough fentanyl precursor chemicals from China to kill millions of Americans,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
Fang’s fentanyl bust “marks one of DEA’s largest seizures of fentanyl chemicals to date in the United States,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said. “By disrupting Fang’s operations, DEA and our partners saved countless lives in the United States.”
The DEA is focusing on “where the harm begins – with the Chinese chemical companies and the individuals that are selling chemicals to those who make and sell the fentanyl that is killing Americans,” she said.
U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas explained the role the Chinese and Mexican cartel play in fentanyl production and distribution, saying, “Fang allegedly imported over 2,000 kilograms of raw materials from China destined for various places in Mexico used in the manufacture of fentanyl.”
The now unsealed charges allege Fang shipped fentanyl precursor chemicals from China into the U.S. and then to Mexico. Investigators uncovered approximately 100 separate shipments between August and October 2023. Fang and his co-conspirators avoided being caught by declaring the shipments had a value of less than $800 and commingled fentanyl precursors with low value import items. The shipments were admitted into the U.S. without detailed inspections and the precursors were then shipped to Mexico, the charges state.
If convicted, Fang faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for each count and a $10 million fine.
On Friday, many news organizations initially reported that the two Sinaloa leaders turned themselves in, however, El Mayo “did not surrender voluntarily,” his attorney told The Los Angeles Times.
Both El Mayo and Guzman Lopez are facing multiple drug, weapons, money laundering and conspiracy charges, including allegedly leading the cartel’s criminal operations and fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks.
Their arrests strike “at the heart of the cartel that is responsible for the majority of drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, killing Americans from coast to coast,” Millgram said.
Zambada pleaded not guilty to all charges on Friday and is being held without bond.
Guzman Lopez was flown from El Paso to Chicago where he is being held in a federal prison, according to several news reports. Their next court dates are scheduled for this week.
Mexican authorities did not participate in their arrests. “Did we participate? No, the Government of Mexico did not take part in this detention or surrender,” Mexican Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez, said, according to translated remarks.
The indictments and arrests came after the DEA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, law enforcement in Texas, Arizona, Florida and California have seized enough fentanyl to kill many times over the world population, and after the Treasury Department has sanctioned dozens of cartel members for their alleged role in fentanyl trafficking, The Center Square has reported.
They also came after the DOJ has charged dozens of Sinaloa operatives, arrested one of El Chapo’s sons last year, arrested Chinese-linked money launderers, and is prosecuting a top Sinaloa assassin, The Center Square has reported.
