Fentanyl Pipeline Executives Get Decades in Prison

NEW YORK, NY – Two Chinese nationals are facing decades behind bars after being convicted of flooding the United States with the chemical ingredients used to manufacture the deadly opioid fentanyl. QINGZHOU WANG, a/k/a “Bruce,” received a 25-year sentence, while YIYI CHEN, a/k/a “Chiron,” was sentenced to 15 years. The pair were found guilty on February 3, 2025, following a grueling two-week jury trial in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The case, spearheaded by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and the DEA’s Terrance C. Cole, exposes a brazen operation by AMARVEL BIOTECH, a Wuhan, China-based chemical manufacturer that allegedly prioritized profit over human life. Prosecutors presented evidence showing that Wang, as principal executive, and Chen, as marketing manager, knowingly shipped over 200 kilograms of fentanyl precursor chemicals to the U.S., despite clear warnings that the substances would be used to create the lethal drug and that consumers had already died from fentanyl made using their products. The company accepted payment in cryptocurrency, effectively laundering the proceeds of a deadly trade.

“American families are burying loved ones because of fentanyl and individuals like Qingzhou Wang and Yiyi Chen who unlawfully market and supply the ingredients to make it,” stated U.S. Attorney Clayton. “There is no place to hide for those who callously fuel the fentanyl epidemic, and these sentences—which were only possible because of the extraordinary efforts of the career prosecutors in this Office and our partners at the DEA and abroad—prove it.” The investigation revealed a calculated effort to disguise the chemicals as innocuous goods to evade detection.

The scheme unraveled when DEA confidential sources infiltrated the operation. In November 2022, a sales representative for AMARVEL BIOTECH, identified as FNU LNU, a/k/a “Er Yang,” a/k/a “Anita” (“YANG”), began negotiating the sale of fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors to an undercover DEA operative posing as a Mexican drug trafficker. Shipments containing 999.7 grams of 1-boc-4-AP, 1,002.6 grams of 1-boc-4-piperidone, and 893.6 grams of methylamine were sent to New York. The operation continued even after the defendants were informed of the devastating consequences of their products.

The audacity of the operation was further highlighted by a March 2023 meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. Wang and Chen met with another DEA operative, believing him to be a high-level drug kingpin. During the meeting, they discussed supplying ton-quantities of fentanyl precursors and casually offered “technical assistance” with fentanyl production, boasting about their network of “customers in America and Mexico.” They even acknowledged reports of deaths linked to fentanyl made from their chemicals, yet remained committed to the lucrative trade.

“These executives turned a Chinese chemical company into a pipeline of poison, shipping hundreds of kilos of fentanyl-related precursors into the United States, disguising them as everyday goods, and cashing in through cryptocurrency,” said DEA Administrator Cole. “Americans were dying, but they kept selling. Thanks to DEA and our global partners, they now face justice, and this case sends a clear message: anyone, anywhere in the world who profits from American deaths will be found and held accountable.” The sentences serve as a stark warning to those involved in the global fentanyl supply chain: the long arm of the law will reach you, no matter where you hide.