Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco Delivers Remarks Announcing Eight Indictments Against China-Based Chemical Manufacturing Companies and Employees

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good afternoon. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

Last April, we announced charges and sanctions against every element of the Sinaloa Cartel’s deadly fentanyl trafficking network, led by the notorious Chapitos brothers.

At that time, we pledged to attack the global networks that fuel the fentanyl crisis, from every angle, at every stage of the supply chain, using every tool available.

Today, we are making good on that pledge – with indictments of 8 Chinese companies and 12 Chinese nationals – for trying to ship into the United States gallon after gallon of chemicals used to make fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other deadly drugs.  

No community is off limits for the fentanyl traffickers who profit at the expense of American lives. And no technique is too brazen if it means access to the American market.

As alleged in today’s indictments, the defendants used a range of trafficking tactics to ply their deadly trade and cover their tracks — from blatant online advertising and encrypted messaging apps to fake shipping schemes and bitcoin payments.

As we learned from prior campaigns against terrorists and cyber criminals, we must be relentless, we must be agile and innovative, and we must use every tool of national power to disrupt the global production and trafficking of fentanyl.

That means combining traditional tools with novel approaches. And that means capitalizing on the partnerships we have built, at home and overseas. 

To bring today’s cases, our agents and prosecutors combined old-school techniques like officers going undercover with cutting-edge tools like cryptocurrency tracing.

Today’s cases reflect the hard work and tenacity of dozens of agents, analysts, and prosecutors at the Department of Justice – but it also reflects teamwork from across the Federal government. For example:

• Undercover DEA agents posed as drug traffickers to identify those shipping precursor poisons to our shores;
• Partners at DHS surged resources to stop the lethal shipments and trace their origin;
• Postal Inspectors exposed a scheme to exploit the mails to deliver the deadly ingredients;
• FBI and IRS agents followed the blockchain to track crypto payments;
• Partners at Treasury assembled the evidence for today’s raft of sanctions; and
• Justice Department prosecutors from the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida coordinated with investigative partners to bring the criminal charges we announce today.

This was a whole-of-government effort. When we work together – sharing information, combining resources, and relentlessly pursuing justice – we can have a tremendous impact on those who would do us harm.

But even with this cross-agency team, we cannot win the battle without additional partners.

Today, we are grateful for the efforts of Mexican prosecutors and officers who worked hand-in-hand with U.S. partners to track shipments of precursor chemicals.

But we must do more.

We need every country across the globe to join with us in the fight against fentanyl.

And we need the private sector’s help as well. As in our fight against cyber criminals and terrorists, we need social media companies and marketplaces to police their platforms to avert catastrophic harm. 

Our nation’s common carriers and freight forwarders must up their game to prevent traffickers from using their services to ship poison to our communities.

It must be all hands on deck.

Today, we renew the Justice Department’s pledge – a pledge to every American community and to the families of hundreds of thousands of Americans who have lost loved ones to fentanyl poisoning:

• We will bring every tool of national power to the fight against fentanyl;
• We will foster public-private collaboration;
• We will find common cause with – and demand action from – foreign governments; and
• We will not rest until we have rid our communities of this poison.

The women and men involved in these cases represent the very best of government service, and I’m proud to stand with them.

I will now turn the podium over to Deputy Secretary Adeyemo to talk more about the Treasury Department actions today.