XINGTAI – A Chinese court on Thursday imprisoned nine people, one whom got a suspended death sentence, on charges of smuggling fentanyl into the United States (US).
Yu Haibin, a senior official with China’s National Narcotics Control Commission, said Chinese and US law enforcement had worked together to “break up the ring.”
One of the people sentenced by the court was given a suspended death sentence – which in practice is normally commuted to life in jail – and two got life sentences, Yu added.
The case originated in 2017 from the Department of Homeland Security’s New Orleans office, which acted on a tip from an informant who provided contact information for a Chinese seller using the pseudonym “Diana,” an official said.
Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid, 50 times more potent than heroin.(Reuters)
