BEIJING — The head of a Chinese fentanyl production and trafficking network targeting customers in the United States received a suspended death sentence at a court in Hebei province on Thursday, in the first criminal case involving opioids jointly investigated by the two countries. Police then tracked down the company’s supplier, Liu Yong, who began running a fentanyl lab in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, in May 2017, Yu said. On Thursday, Liu was sentenced in the Xingtai Intermediate People’s Court to death with a two-year reprieve for producing and trafficking 11.9 kilograms of fentanyl and other narcotics. In May, China included 25 fentanyl analogues on the list of controlled substances, four more than the US. The move means that those who produce or distribute fentanyl can receive the maximum punishment for drug trafficking — death.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer November 10, 2019 12:04 UTC