A federal investigation has exposed a sweeping fentanyl trafficking and money laundering network stretching from China to Ohio.
Prosecutors say the case, known as “Operation Box Cutter,” is among the largest U.S. efforts to date against Chinese companies supplying precursors used to make the synthetic opioid.
At the center is Eric Michael Payne, 39, of Tipp City, Ohio, who is accused of distributing cutting agents to fentanyl traffickers across southern Ohio. Investigators allege he bought the substances from Chinese firms posing as online pharmacies or chemical suppliers.
According to court filings, some of the agents included a tranquilizer estimated to be 200 times stronger than morphine, Townhall reported. DOJ officials have confirmed that Payne was not acting alone.
Prosecutors said the group bought at least 10 kilograms of chemical agents — enough to produce more than 150 kilograms of fentanyl mixtures.
Federal officials described how overseas companies used intermediaries to market and ship the products, directing U.S. buyers to cryptocurrency wallets they controlled. The funds were then routed through foreign banks, masking the transactions and sustaining a pipeline that funneled fentanyl components into American communities, according to the Washington Examiner.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the takedown as “a first-of-its-kind international operation” that directly struck at the Chinese supply chain fueling America’s fentanyl crisis.
“We have indicted Chinese precursor companies and exposed their bank accounts and cryptocurrency pipelines, and funding sources that facilitate this deadly trade,” Patel said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi added that the charges highlight how fentanyl trafficking has evolved into a national security threat. “Protecting Americans from fentanyl is one of this Department’s most important missions — and it starts with dismantling the international pipelines that bring deadly drugs and precursor to our shores,” she said.
“We will not rest until we stop Chinese companies from shipping poison to our citizens and bring everyone involved in this lethal trade to swift, complete justice,” she added.
Sanctions were also announced against Guangzhou Tengyue, one of the Chinese companies named in the indictments, as well as two of its representatives, Zhanpeng Huang and Xiaojun Huang.
