<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The US has announced sanctions on 25 China-based firms and individuals allegedly involved in the production of chemicals used to make fentanyl.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fentanyl, a potent opioid used as a painkiller or sedative, plays a major role in the ongoing US drug crisis.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Attorney General Merrick Garland said the chain "often starts with chemical companies in China".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters news agency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In April, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said there was "no such thing as illegal trafficking of fentanyl" between China and Mexico.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This came after Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called on the Chinese government to help stop the alleged flow of fentanyl and its precursors into his country.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The US authorities blame Mexican drug gangs for supplying fentanyl to users across the US.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fentanyl can be legally prescribed by doctors, but a dramatic increase in opioid addiction in the US in recent decades has led to a rise in illegal production and overdoses.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2022, the drug was linked to a record 109,680 deaths.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The US treasury department announced sanctions against what it called a "China-based network responsible for the manufacturing and distribution" of precursors of fentanyl and a number of other illegal drugs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Officials say companies in the fentanyl supply chain routinely use false addresses and mislabelling to avoid their products being identified by law enforcement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Those affected by the sanctions include 12 entities and 13 individuals based in China, as well as two entities and one individual based in Canada, the treasury said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The sanctions will freeze the entities' US assets and bar Americans from dealing with them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Merrick Garland is due to travel to Mexico with other senior officials for meetings on how to tackle the supply of illegal drugs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We know who is responsible for poisoning the American people with fentanyl," Mr Garland told reporters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We know that this network includes the cartels' leaders, their drug traffickers, their money launderers, their clandestine lab operators, their security forces, their weapons suppliers, and their chemical suppliers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"And we know that this global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The justice department has also unsealed indictments charging eight Chinese companies and 12 of their employees with crimes related to fentanyl and methamphetamine production, the distribution of opioids and sales resulting from precursor chemicals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">No-one has been arrested and the Chinese government did not work with US authorities on the investigations, Mr Garland said. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>