Two Indian Firms Charged with Smuggling Fentanyl Ingredients

January 7, 2025 TruthUSA

The companies are said to have provided the raw materials to Mexican cartels for the mass production of fentanyl-laced pills.

Federal prosecutors in New York have filed charges against two pharmaceutical firms based in India for smuggling chemicals necessary for fentanyl synthesis.

The indictments claim that Raxuter Chemicals and Athos Chemicals engaged in a conspiracy to import and distribute chemicals to the United States, fully aware they were intended for fentanyl production, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced on Monday.

Prosecutors have stated that the two companies, located in Surat, a western city in India, smuggled “all the materials necessary” for producing fentanyl into the United States, Mexico, and various other nations. They allegedly employed “deceptive tactics” to avoid detection, which included mislabeling shipments, falsifying customs documents, and giving false statements at border crossings.

For instance, prosecutors indicated that in June 2024, Raxuter mislabeled a shipment heading to New York City, falsely claiming it contained Vitamin C. In another case, the company purportedly misidentified a fentanyl precursor as an antacid.

These shipments are believed to have provided the raw materials for Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and other traffickers, enabling the production of fentanyl in underground labs on “a massive scale.”

Bhavesh Lahiya, one of the founders and a senior executive at Raxuter, has also been indicted on related charges. The 36-year-old, known by the aliases “Bhavesh Patel” and “Bhavesh Bhai,” was taken into custody in New York City on Saturday and has been held after his arraignment in a Brooklyn federal court, as reported by the attorney’s office.

Prosecutors have revealed that in one piece of evidence against Lahiya, he participated in a video call about the sale of fentanyl precursor chemicals with an undercover agent from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. During this call, Lahiya allegedly agreed to sell a precursor chemical and recommended mislabeling it as an antacid. The mislabeled shipment reportedly reached New York in November 2024.

If found guilty, Lahiya could face a maximum sentence of 53 years in prison.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that fentanyl-related overdose deaths reached 74,002 nationwide in 2023, averaging around 200 deaths each day.

The severity of the fentanyl epidemic is also highlighted by the seizures made by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In 2024, the agency confiscated 55.5 million fentanyl-laced pills and over 7,800 pounds of fentanyl powder, which amounts to more than 367 million potentially lethal doses.

Key players in this crisis include the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, which the DEA has stated have built global supply chains, acquiring precursor chemicals from China and producing fentanyl in secret labs in Mexico before smuggling it across the U.S. border. Often, the fentanyl is pressed into counterfeit pills that mimic pharmaceutical drugs like anti-depressants and pain relievers, presenting considerable dangers to unsuspecting consumers.

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