By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two executives of a Chinese chemical company have been found not guilty by a Manhattan jury on charges they conspired to ship precursor chemicals to the United States to manufacture fentanyl, but were convicted on related charges.
In a verdict returned on Wednesday and made available electronically on Thursday, jurors found Hubei Amarvel Biotech’s principal executive Qingzhao Wang and marketing manager Yiyi Chen not guilty of the top charge, conspiracy to distribute fentanyl or a fentanyl-related substance.
However, Wang and Chen were found guilty of conspiracy to import a fentanyl precursor chemical. The jury found they had cause to believe it would be used to make fentanyl, but not that they had intent to make it. Both defendants were also convicted of conspiracy to launder money.
The U.S. Department of Justice touted the 2023 indictment of Wang and Chen as a significant step in the fight against fentanyl, a highly addictive painkiller.
It was the first time U.S. authorities sought to prosecute Chinese company executives over the distribution of fentanyl and related products.
More than 400,000 people have died in the United States from synthetic opioid overdoses in the past decade.
David Mou, a lawyer for Wang, said after the verdict that his client had no intent to make the drug, “and his chemicals were never used to make fentanyl.”
Chen’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan did not immediately respond to a similar request.
Prosecutors said Wang and Chen shipped 200 kilograms of chemicals for fentanyl in 2022 and 2023 and met in Bangkok and Fiji with undercover Drug Enforcement Administration sources posing as Mexican drug traffickers to negotiate shipments.
Wang’s and Chen’s sentencings are scheduled for May 29 and June 5, respectively.
Chris Urben, a former DEA agent and now managing director at investigations firm Nardello & Co, said in an interview that evidence from the trial could help U.S. negotiators push China to crack down on the flow of precursor chemicals to Mexican cartels.
China says it works with Mexico and the United States to combat illegal drugs.
Amarvel was among seven Chinese suppliers that sold precursor chemicals to Reuters reporters during the news agency’s investigation into the chemical trade.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Mark Porter)
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