Two Gujarat-based chemical companies, Athos Chemicals and Raxuter Chemicals, have been indicted in the U.S. for allegedly supplying ingredients used to produce the potent opioid fentanyl. The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges of distributing and conspiring to distribute precursor chemicals for fentanyl production.
Raxuter’s senior executive, Bhavesh Lathiya, 36, was also charged with smuggling and introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce. Lathiya, arrested in New York on Saturday, was deemed a flight risk and a community danger.
“Targeting fentanyl supply chains is crucial to combating this epidemic,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times stronger than heroin, has fueled the opioid crisis, which caused over 82,000 U.S. deaths in 2022, per the CDC.
Prosecutors alleged that since February 2024, the defendants supplied precursor chemicals, such as 1-boc-4-piperidone, while concealing their activities through false labeling and customs declarations. In one case, Lathiya reportedly agreed to sell 20 kilograms of the chemical to an undercover agent posing as a fentanyl producer. He suggested mislabeling it as antacid and acknowledged the satisfaction of Mexico-based clients with the fentanyl yield.
In another case, Athos allegedly sold 100 kilograms of the same chemical to a Mexican drug trafficker linked to a drug cartel.
Lathiya faces up to 53 years in prison if convicted. Requests for comment from the companies and Lathiya’s legal team went unanswered.
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