Federal agents took down the man leading one of the largest drug operations in the history of the U.S., hailing it as a big step forward in the fight against fentanyl, reports KTRK in Houston. Minsu Fang, 48, was indicted for four counts of conspiracy to import, export, and manufacture fentanyl. According to federal charging documents, Fang and his associates sent raw materials used to make fentanyl from China to the U.S. The fentanyl precursors ended up in Mexico, where they were made into laced pills and then sent back to the U.S. for sale and distribution.
Investigators said Fang and his co-conspirators avoided law enforcement by mislabeling packages, lying about the contents, and mixing them with other products. As a result, the shipments were allegedly admitted into the U.S. without a detailed inspections. Between August and October of 2023, federal officials said agents seized 100 shipments in Laredo, Tex., containing more than two tons of raw materials, enough to make millions of pills. Fang was arrested in New York on June 19. U.S. Attorney Alamdar Hamdani said, "You've got children who think they're taking Percocet, Oxycodone, or Adderall. They have no idea that those pills are laced with fentanyl because a friend gave it to them. What ends up happening is those kids don't wake up the next day. Our plea to parents is that one pill shouldn't be a death sentence." Attorney General Merrick Garland said, “Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat the United States has ever faced, and the Justice Department is committed to breaking apart every link in the global fentanyl supply chain.”
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