Suspected China-based fentanyl suppliers raking in tens of millions in crypto, analysis shows

Cryptocurrency is an attractive payment method for the illicit drug trade, and a new analysis shows suspected China-based companies producing chemicals used to make deadly fentanyl have received tens of millions in digital currencies in recent years.

A report released Wednesday by blockchain data platform Chainalysis identified crypto addresses associated with dozens of Chinese suppliers believed to be shipping fentanyl ingredients overseas and found the producers have collectively raked in at least $37.8 million in crypto since 2018. 

"It's important to remember that our estimate merely scratches the surface of what is potentially happening on-chain regarding the purchase, sale and trafficking of deadly fentanyl and fentanyl-related products," said Eric Jardine, cybercrimes research lead at Chainalysis. 

"This demonstrates a significant opportunity for law enforcement to generate leads on actors fueling the fentanyl crisis and anticipate when an influx in fentanyl trade may occur."

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"The frequently overlooked aspect of cryptocurrency is its inherent transparency," Jardine told FOX Business. "This transparency becomes particularly advantageous in scenarios involving the monitoring of illicit operations like the global fentanyl trade."

In 2020, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) cited China as the top producer of fentanyl precursors the year before, and India was another heavy producer.

Chainalysis used data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and found that on-chain flows to suspected chemical shop addresses correlated with fentanyl seizures at the U.S.-Mexico border. 

China has said there is no illegal trafficking of fentanyl between China and Mexico. The U.S. believes Chinese traffickers have shifted from manufacturing finished fentanyl to mostly exporting the precursor chemicals to Mexican cartels, which make and deliver the final product.

The researchers at Chainalysis traced the purported fentanyl precursor shipments to locations around the globe suspected to be chemical shops for manufacturing and pointed to heavy exposure in Latin America, North America, Europe and Asia.

The report said the findings suggest crypto-based transactions associated with fentanyl production match regional patterns previously detailed by the the DEA showing fentanyl precursor chemicals are illegally shipped to Latin America where they are used to produce fentanyl, which is then transported to the U.S. to be sold. 

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"This process typically involves the following steps," the analysis states. "First, Chinese and Indian chemical shops send fentanyl precursors to Mexico and Central America. Here, drug cartels create and package fentanyl products, which they then send across the border into the United States."

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The report added, "Many drug traffickers use crypto in an attempt to evade law enforcement, thus facilitating the ongoing opioid epidemic in the United States and other drug-related crises worldwide."

Reuters contributed to this report.