FBI Director Kash Patel plans journey to China as a part of fentanyl crackdown effort

FBI Director Kash Patel is ready to go to China subsequent month because the company cracks down on worldwide suppliers of chemical substances tied to fentanyl, in accordance with a number of sources with information of the plan.

Patel and President Trump have made combating precursor chemical substances produced abroad and associated funding streams a cornerstone of the administration’s anti-drug insurance policies, blaming China for fostering the United States’ dependancy disaster. 

The FBI didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. It is unclear whom Patel plans to satisfy with through the journey.

Mr. Trump stated he’ll carry up the unlawful drug drawback when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in South Korea.

“The first question I’m going to be asking him about is fentanyl,” Mr. Trump stated throughout an occasion within the White House State Dining Room on Thursday meant to focus on the crackdown on drug cartels that site visitors narcotics. “I’m putting it right at the front of the list.” 

Mr. Trump stated on the occasion that the administration has up to now seized 150,000 kilos of narcotics. 

“Those aren’t numbers — those are lives, lives saved by the millions. The millions. Enough fentanyl to kill over 200 million Americans gone, evaporated off our streets, permanently,” Patel stated on the White House occasion.

The CDC estimates that there have been 48,422 deaths tied to fentanyl in 2024, down from 76,282 the 12 months earlier than. The provisional estimates are based mostly on state demise data acquired and processed by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Mr. Trump introduced days after taking workplace that he meant to impose duties on China for “failing to stem” the stream of medicine to the United States and “by actively sustaining and expanding the business of poisoning our citizens.”

The Justice Department has made that effort a focus. On Sept. 3, Patel revealed an indictment he referred to as “first-of-its-kind,” charging Chinese firms and people that allegedly manufacture precursor chemical substances wanted for fentanyl manufacturing.

“This operation has already seized enough fentanyl powder to kill 70 million Americans and enough fentanyl pills to kill another 270,000,” Patel stated. “And we have now indicted the Chinese precursor companies and exposed the funding streams that facilitate this deadly trade.”

During Senate testimony on Sept. 16, Patel added that the company has additionally seized cryptocurrency wallets tied to mainland Chinese companies and enterprises suspected of involvement in fentanyl manufacturing.