China, US deepen counternarcotics cooperation with joint case

A new transnational case involving the production and trafficking of precursor chemicals has been resolved, highlighting intensified counternarcotics cooperation between China and the United States.

China's Ministry of Public Security said on Thursday that it had worked with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation to crack down on a cross-border case involving the production and trafficking of synthetic cannabinoid precursors.

In early May, US authorities alerted China about two Chinese nationals, identified by their surnames Xing and Song, according to the ministry. Further investigation found that they were connected to an ongoing domestic case in China, prompting the ministry to consolidate the investigations.

By mid-August, coordinated efforts by police in Hebei province and other regions led to a unified operation that resulted in the capture of 21 suspects, including Xing and Song, and the seizure of various non-scheduled precursor chemicals that could be used in drug production, the ministry said.

US authorities had previously arrested two suspects linked to the case in the United States. The individuals had purchased non-scheduled precursor chemicals and manufactured drugs, which were then distributed to inmates in several federal and state prisons, the ministry said.

The resolution of the case underscores the effective functioning of the China-US counternarcotics law enforcement cooperation mechanism and represents a significant achievement in the ongoing collaboration between Chinese and US counternarcotics agencies, the ministry added.

In January 2024, the two countries launched the China-US Counternarcotics Working Group in Beijing, identifying priority areas for cooperation. On July 31 that year, a Chinese interdepartmental delegation visited the US for the first senior officials' meeting of the working group, helping build mutual trust and advance practical cooperation.

Since then, China's Narcotics Control Bureau has maintained routine hotline contact and regular exchanges with US counternarcotics agencies, exchanging more than 100 intelligence leads.

In July, China's Ministry of Public Security said that bilateral counternarcotics cooperation had become increasingly institutionalized, leading to joint investigations of several major transnational cases.

Those cases include a drug smuggling and trafficking case involving suspects led by a man surnamed Guo, and a transnational new psychoactive substances trafficking case involving suspects led by a man surnamed Gong. The operations dismantled drug trafficking routes between China and the US, the ministry said.

In August, a Chinese court sentenced a man and his son to prison and imposed fines for trafficking precursor chemicals abroad, as part of broader efforts by the two countries to combat narcotics.

The ministry said the strengthened cooperation follows the important consensus reached by the two nations, reflecting renewed engagement in combating transnational crime and tightening controls on narcotics-related substances and chemicals.