(PatriotWise.com) — The House Select Committee on China announced on Tuesday the release of a report on its detailed investigation into China’s role in the ongoing fentanyl crisis, the Washington Examiner reported.
According to the report, the Chinese government has been subsidizing the export of the chemicals used in the manufacture of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs and has obstructed US investigations into the suppliers.
Describing China’s actions as “abhorrent,” the report said Beijing’s complicity violated “the laws of nations” and caused “profound human suffering” both in the US and around the globe.
The committee’s investigation included searching seven e-commerce sites which uncovered more than 31,000 examples of over 2,000 Chinese companies that were trafficking illegal drugs. The companies violated Chinese laws by offering to bypass customs and accepting payment in cryptocurrency.
Of the companies found, more than 1,500 shared “common linkages” like addresses and cell phone numbers.
Beijing was subsidizing the overseas sales of the drugs by offering rebates against China’s value-added tax. According to the select committee’s report, the subsidies have been in place since 2018.
According to a spokesperson for the Republicans on the committee, by paying subsidies to those making illegal drugs and selling them aboard, Beijing was sponsoring a “mass drug trafficking program.”
However, the subsidies were only part of Beijing’s involvement in the trafficking operation. Chinese officials also obstructed US law enforcement in its prosecution of criminal traffickers.
In a May 2018 investigation, the Justice Department sent a team to meet with Chinese officials but the officials would not cooperate in the investigation.
Since then, US law enforcement and its allied partners have indicted dozens of individuals and entities engaged in drug trafficking in China, and Beijing has done nothing to help investigate or prosecute any of them.
In its report, the select committee recommended creating a joint task force, bolstering US sanctions, and enacting other trade and customs restrictions to combat China’s illegal drug trade.
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