Nine people have been jailed in China for smuggling fentanyl into the US following a landmark joint investigation by Chinese and the American officials.
The joint investigation into the people smuggling fentany from China into the US was initiated after US President Donald Trump stated in August that China was not doing enough to stop the opioid from being shipped to the country.
Trump claimed that fentanyl, which is 50 times more potent than heroin, kills "100,000 Americans a year". However, 2017 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that synthetic opioids, other than methadone, were linked to 28,000 deaths.
The Chinese court stated that this was the first time US and Chinese officers worked together on such a case. The joint operation's results were announced by both Chinese and US authorities in the city of Xingtai in China.
Among the nine people incarcerated, one was given a suspended death sentence, which usually translates to life in prison, while two others were given life sentences. The remaining six culprits were given lesser sentences, from six months to 10 years.
Fentanyl and addiction in the US
The opioid is a prescription painkiller only approved in the country for severe pain arising in cases such as cancer treatment. However, the drug is often sourced illegally and used for making counterfeit narcotics.
Because it is relatively cheap, it is frequently used by people unable to get drugs legally. Some doctors refuse to prescribe them while some patients buy them illegally because their don't have insurance policy or have run out of the medication.
In 2018, the US government warned about the increase in cocaine deaths due to the presence of fentanyl. Trump has long accused China of being the source of the problem in the country as the Chinese government previously used tax breaks to encourage fentanyl production.
