Justice Department: Two New Jersey men sentenced for Fentanyl-like items originating in China

The U.S. Department of Justice on July 9 that two men in New Jersey had been convicted by federal courts for participating in a drug trafficking organization that imported phentanyl-like substances from China and distributed pills in Northern New Jersey.

The core facts

According to the Department of Justice, the gang has accumulated more than one tonne of Fentanyl-related substances and other drugs into the United States, and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to China for drug purchases via telecommunications and Bitcoin.

Condemnation situation

Sean Tighe, 50, from North Haledon, New Jersey, was sentenced to 151 months in prison on July

1. The Department of Justice said that Tighe had previously admitted to distributing phentanyl-like pills and was involved in money laundering conspiracies; he admitted to conspiring to distribute more than 9 kilograms of substances such as furanyl fentanyl and more than 9 kilograms of 4-fluoroisobutyryl fentanyl between about March 2014 and September 2020.

Juan Rodriguez, 51, from Irvington, New Jersey, was sentenced to 60 months in prison on July

1. The Justice Department said Rodriguez had previously admitted to possessing and intending to distribute Fentanyl analogues, obtaining opioid pills from Tigge during the conspiracy, and distributing them in Northern New Jersey.

China sources and logistics chains

The Department of Justice that other members ordered from Chinese sources to import kilograms-level controlled substances and similar substances to the United States. These drugs arrived in the United States through commercial package delivery services and air freight, and were then transferred to New York City, where they conspired to compress Fentanyl-like powder into counterfeit prescription pills.

The Border of Fact

The above content comes from the U.S. Department of Justice’s public notice and the accused’s conviction and conviction information. The statement involving “China source” in the notice is a statement of the Department of Justice’s case, not equivalent to a judicial determination of Chinese government agencies. This case shows that the U.S. law enforcement agencies are tracking the supply chain, cross-border payment and domestic distribution link as a whole.