The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 17 individuals and entities involved in the international proliferation of equipment used to produce illicit drugs.
These targets are directly or indirectly involved in the sale of pill press machines, die molds, and other equipment used to impress counterfeit trade markings of legitimate pharmaceuticals onto illicitly produced pills, often laced with fentanyl, frequently destined for US markets.
“Treasury’s sanctions target every stage of the deadly supply chain fueling the surge in fentanyl poisonings and deaths across the country,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.
“Counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl constitute a leading cause of these deaths, devastating thousands of American families each year.
We remain committed to using all authorities against enablers of illicit drug production to disrupt this deadly global production and counter the threat posed by these drugs.” Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said, “this action was coordinated closely across the US government with the Government of Mexico and targets entities and individuals involved in criminal activities, not specific countries.
These designated individuals and entities were involved in creating counterfeit pills with false markings of legitimate pharmaceuticals, often laced with fentanyl, and likely bound for US markets.
Today’s actions further bolster those previously taken by the Biden-Harris administration as part of a whole-of-government offensive to save lives by disrupting illicit fentanyl supply chains around the globe.
Source: Kuwait News Agency