IMC Pro International, an American shipping company, will pay the U.S. government $400,000 to resolve claims that they aided Chinese companies in shipping chemicals used to make fentanyl into the U.S., as stated by American officials.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Western Texas announced the agreement on Wednesday. This is the first time a U.S. shipping firm has settled charges of violating drug laws by moving fentanyl ingredients through the country. The money paid is not an admission of wrongdoing.
Chemical smugglers are using the U.S. more often as a stop for fentanyl ingredients headed to Mexico. There, the chemicals are processed into fentanyl in secret labs. These packages are disguised among the many inexpensive online shopping items arriving daily by plane from China to the U.S.
Last year, Reuters was the first to report this roundabout smuggling method and how a little-known U.S. trade rule has assisted drug dealers. This rule, called “de minimis,” allows goods worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. without taxes and with very few checks.
Daniel Comeaux from the DEA in Houston stated that some companies are using tricks to sneak dangerous substances into our neighborhoods.
This situation started in 2023 when U.S. officials in Eagle Pass, Texas, near the Mexican border, found five boxes of chemicals used to make fentanyl. The packages were said to be sent by IMC Pro. Officials noted that the value of the contents was claimed to be less than $800, potentially allowing them to be quickly processed through customs.
However, officials discovered that IMC Pro wasn’t actually the sender. Instead, they had agreements with Chinese chemical companies, giving them access to IMC Pro’s shipping accounts. This allowed the Chinese companies to create U.S. shipping labels ahead of time, falsely showing IMC Pro as the sender, seemingly to hide where the goods really came from.
On Thursday, an IMC Pro worker contacted by phone stated that the company would not comment. The company also did not answer questions sent by email.
IMC Pro’s website says it was started in 1994 and has locations in Compton, California, and Bensenville, Illinois.
The confiscated boxes held more than 25 kilograms of 1-boc-4-piperidone, a controlled chemical commonly used to make fentanyl in Mexico. The boxes also had almost 140 kilograms of (2-bromoethyl)benzene, another important chemical for fentanyl that the DEA is watching closely. Officials said these chemicals were planned to be sent into Mexico.
Last year, Reuters bought both of these chemicals from Chinese sellers to learn more about the secret supply chain of fentanyl ingredients.
The investigation showed that it is still very cheap and simple to buy these chemicals. It also found that U.S. trade policies have made the country a main place for shipping Chinese fentanyl chemicals, which is contributing to the overdose deaths of almost 450,000 Americans.
