FBI, Chinese police bust synthetic drug traffickers

Chinese and United States law enforcement authorities have jointly cracked a cross-border case involving precursors for synthetic cannabinoids, the latest in a series of operations highlighting cooperation between the two countries on tackling transnational crime.

China's Ministry of Public Security said in early September that Chinese police and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had worked together on the case, which led to the arrest of 21 suspects in China and two in the US.

In recent years, authorities from both countries have worked to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, and carried out practical cooperation in drug control, fugitive repatriation and the fight against telecom fraud, achieving tangible results, the ministry said.

In the latest case, US authorities provided China with information in early May concerning two Chinese nationals, surnamed Xing and Song. Chinese investigators found that the intelligence was linked to a case already under investigation in China, prompting the Ministry of Public Security to merge the two investigations.

In mid-August, police in North China's Hebei province and other areas carried out coordinated arrests, detaining 21 suspects, including Xing and Song, and seizing nonscheduled precursor chemicals that could be used to manufacture drugs.

The US authorities had earlier arrested two suspects from the US who allegedly purchased the chemicals, used them to manufacture drugs in the US and distributed the substances to inmates in several federal and state prisons.

Drug control has been one of the most active areas of China-US law enforcement cooperation.

In April, Chinese and US antidrug agencies jointly cracked a cross-border drug-trafficking case involving suspects surnamed Guo and others. Coordinated operations in Liaoning and Guangdong provinces in China and in Florida and Nevada in the US led to the arrest of five suspects — two Chinese and three Americans — and the seizure of drugs including protonitazene and bromazolam.

The two sides have also jointly investigated a transnational case involving new psychoactive substances since 2024. Acting on information provided by the US side, police in Tianjin arrested a suspect surnamed Gong in February this year, after US authorities had earlier detained an American suspect in Georgia in connection with the same case.

Cooperation has also extended to multilateral operations. In February 2025, acting on information from the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Chinese antidrug and coast guard authorities intercepted a drug-trafficking vessel southwest of Huangyan Island in the South China Sea, arresting seven suspects and seizing nearly 5 metric tons of methamphetamine.

The operation, also involving the Royal Thai Police, marked one of the largest single maritime drug seizures in the Asia-Pacific region in recent years.

The recent cases build on the resumption of China-US counternarcotics cooperation in early 2024.

The China-US Counternarcotics Working Group was officially launched in Beijing on Jan 30,2024. In November that year, the two sides held their 10th counternarcotics intelligence-sharing meeting in Shanghai, discussing drug trends, chemical controls, anti-money laundering, case cooperation and personnel exchanges.

Telecom fraud has become another area of expanding cooperation. In May, police from China, the US and the United Arab Emirates carried out their first joint operation targeting telecom fraud in Dubai, dismantling nine scam compounds and arresting 276 suspects.

The groups allegedly used social media to establish romantic relationships with victims before persuading them to invest in purported high-return cryptocurrency projects.

The two countries have also made progress in fugitive repatriation.

In July, the US authorities handed over to China a major suspect surnamed Liu, who was accused of involvement in the kidnapping and killing of Chinese citizens overseas.

A Chinese citizen surnamed Xia and others were lured to the Philippines in June 2024 and later kidnapped and killed. Investigators identified Liu as a major suspect and found that he had fled to the US.

The Chinese authorities worked with law enforcement agencies in the United States, the Philippines and the Republic of Korea, while Interpol issued a Red Notice at China's request. Following repeated exchanges of case information and evidence, US authorities arrested Liu in October 2024 and repatriated him to China in July.

In April, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement also repatriated to China a Chinese national surnamed Han who was suspected of drug smuggling and trafficking. The Chinese authorities said he was the first drug-related fugitive handed over by the US to China in recent years.

Cooperation has worked in both directions. In July 2024, China handed over to the US an American Red Notice fugitive, who was wanted for alleged child sexual assault.

The Ministry of Public Security said Chinese law enforcement authorities will continue to deepen practical cooperation with their US counterparts and law enforcement agencies in other countries, improve mechanisms for intelligence sharing and joint investigations, and intensify efforts against transnational crime to protect the lawful rights and interests of people in all countries.

yangzekun@chinadaily.com.cn