Xiaobing Yan, Chinese National, Indicted for Fentanyl Trafficking
The Justice Department announced that federal grand juries in the Southern District of Mississippi returned indictments, unsealed yesterday, against Xiaobing Yan, 40, of China, for separate conspiracies to distribute large quantities of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues in the United States.
The Chinese national is accused of using different names and company identities over a period of at least six years and operating websites selling acetyl fentanyl and other deadly fentanyl analogues directly to U.S. customers in multiple cities across the country.
According to the indictment, Yan operated at least two chemical plants in China that were capable of producing ton quantities of fentanyl and fentanyl analogues. He also monitored legislation and law enforcement activities in the United States and China, modifying the chemical structure of the fentanyl analogues he produced to evade prosecution in the United States.
Over the course of the investigation, federal agents identified more than 100 distributors of synthetic opioids involved with Yan’s manufacturing and distribution networks. Federal investigations of the distributors are ongoing in 10 judicial districts, and investigators have traced illegal proceeds of the distribution network.
Law enforcement agents intercepted packages mailed from Yan’s Internet pharmaceutical companies, seizing multiple kilograms of suspected acetyl fentanyl, potentially enough for thousands of lethal doses.
Xiaobing Yan was indicted in the Southern District of Mississippi on September 7, 2023, on two counts of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute multiple controlled substances, including fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, and seven counts of manufacturing and distributing the drugs in specific instances.
The exact date of sentencing or outcome is not specified in the press release.
Yan faces charges that carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of up to $10 million.
Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Drug TraffickingDrug TraffickingDrug TraffickingDrug Trafficking