Fentanyl China Mexico - USAGM
Metadata
- Fentanyl China Mexico - USAGM
- June 14, 2023
- Language English
- Transcript/Script ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV Fentanyl China Mexico HEADLINE: VOA Investigation: Sales of Fentanyl Precursors Still Thriving Online TEASER: Mainstream online platforms exploited by illicit Fentanyl precursor vendors PUBLISHED: 5/31/2023 8:20am BYLINE: Veronica Balderas Iglesias, CONTRIBUTOR: Adrianna Gao Zhang DATELINE: VIDEORAPHER/VIDEO EDITOR: Veronica Balderas Iglesias SCRIPT EDITORS: Reifenrath, Sharon Shahid, DJ (ok), VIDEO SOURCE (S): Agencies, see script for others PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __ TRT: 4:35 VID APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG + Radio EDITOR NOTES: ((Radio Tracks for Reversioning Included)) TV Eds – this is a longer enterprise TV package that is one of a pair of stories about fentanyl trafficking and US efforts to stop it. There’s around a 450-word version available by cutting the opt section. Some services may want the longer version)) ((TV INTRO)) [[Illicit vendors of the chemicals used to make the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl are exploiting mainstream online platforms to advertise their products and allegedly smuggle them into the United States. VOA's Veronica Balderas Iglesias investigated how they operate.]] ((Mandatory cg: DEA)) ((NARRATOR)) U.S. law enforcement agencies have been intensifying their efforts to curb the smuggling of fentanyl and related substances into the United States. ((Mandatory cg: DEA)) The synthetic opioid is about one hundred times more potent than morphine in relieving pain. And just a couple of milligrams could be lethal. [[RADIO INTRO: Analyst Logan Pauley has spent years researching synthetic drug supply chains.]] ((Mandatory cg: Skype)) ((Logan Pauley, Synthetic Drug Network Analyst)) ((Skype)) "The White House and the DEA worked together to release a class ban in 2019 that banned all fentanyl and fentanyl-like substances. China actually agreed to ban all export of fentanyl-like substances in the same ban.” ((Mandatory cg: DEA)) ((NARRATOR)) But the sale of precursors, the substances used to illegally manufacture fentanyl, is still thriving online. VOA searched for the chemicals' numeric identifiers online. Up popped mainstream websites, including the open audio platform SoundCloud, where alleged suppliers of the drugs posted their contact information. Through text messages, we gained insight into how the alleged illicit vendors operate. They all claimed to be based in China. They offered a fentanyl precursor tightly controlled by American Authorities and under review in China. And another chemical in the process of being controlled by the U.S. Some said their preferred distribution route was through the United States, where they claimed they had warehouses. Delivering the packages directly to the U.S. could take up to three weeks. Prices started at $100 per kilogram, and some accepted bitcoin. To avoid detection, shipments, they explained, are sometimes labeled as “cat food.” [[RADIO INTRO: Analyst Logan Pauley]] ((Logan Pauley, Synthetic Drug Network Analyst)) ((Skype)) “Fentanyl, fentanyl precursors, other synthetic drugs are being shipped through freight forwarders, are being shipped through brokers. So, when you're looking at the actual bill of lading, when you're looking at the trade data associated with an illicit shipment, it might not even say 'X' Chinese company that manufactured it.” VOA couldn't independently verify the claims made by the alleged illicit vendors or the nature of the chemicals they offered. ((NARRATOR)) For consumers, fentanyl can be risky. More than 75,000 fatal overdoses involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids were reported in 2022, according to provisional data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. [[RADIO INTRO: Dr. Wilson Compton is deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse]] ((Dr. Wilson Compton, National Institute on Drug Abuse)) ((Skype)) “If you go to the proper authorities that are producing these for legitimate purposes, that nomenclature, those numbers, those details will be carefully assigned to the correct chemical. But when it comes to entities on the web, the buyer needs to be extraordinarily cautious because they may not at all be what you expect to be getting.” ((Veronica Balderas Iglesias, VOA News)) "Chinese authorities in Washington replied to VOA's request for comment in writing emphasizing quote "that China adopts strict measures to regulate precursor chemicals" According to spokesperson Liu Pengyu, China has a licensing and verification system for all scheduled chemicals. And in 2021 it arrested more than 8,000 suspected online traffickers. ((NARRATOR)) SoundCloud took down the posts after VOA brought them to the company’s attention. But experts say it’s a constant problem. [[RADIO INTRO: Chris Urben is a retired US Drug Enforcement Administration agent]] ((Chris Urben, Former US Drug Enforcement Administration Agent)) ((Skype)) “I think law enforcement needs to do something that they haven’t done in the past, which is share specific tactical intelligence in short order. We can’t expect whether it be the social media companies or financial institutions to develop this intelligence in quick order, when the U.S. government is having difficulty itself in doing it.” ((NARRATOR)) Dr. Rahul Gupta, the National Drug Control Policy director at the White House, said the Biden administration is working with social media companies ((Mandatory cg: DEA)) within the United States and across the globe to crack down on drug traffickers. ((Dr. Rahul Gupta, National Drug Control Policy Director)) ((Skype)) “We are taking the fight to the traffickers and the manufacturers and shippers by having a commercial disruption frame. What that means is we are going across mapping up the entire supply chain of synthetics and addressing specific areas that we think will give us the biggest yield.” ((NARRATOR)) While it couldn’t confirm the nature of the chemicals that VOA found online, Gupta’s office said it would pass along our findings to federal law enforcement agencies for any follow-up or investigation. ((Veronica Balderas Iglesias, VOA News, Washington))
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Byline Veronica Balderas Iglesias
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English