Yuancheng headquarters in Wuhan
When I traveled to Wuhan in early 2018 to investigate the world’s largest distributor of fentanyl ingredients, no one had heard of the city. Located in Central China, it is known for spicy foods and top universities, and, with its 11 million population, sometimes compared to Chicago. It is also home to Yuancheng, the chemical conglomerate selling more fentanyl precursors than any other company; their biggest clients are Mexican cartels.
Since coronavirus emerged, the number one question people ask me is if it will it slow the global fentanyl trade. After all, the virus may or may not have originated at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan; regardless, the city was hit first. The Chinese government very quickly quarantined, stifling both Wuhan’s legitimate and illicit chemical industry.
Yuancheng falls somewhere in between, as its fentanyl precursors and anabolic steroids are legal in China, yet shipped in fake packaging and smuggled into the U.S. Here’s my Fentanyl, Inc. excerpt in The Atlantic about the company’s business practices, and my LA Times editorial about how the Chinese government subsidized it and other companies making fentanyl products.
Even before coronavirus, Yuancheng had its own problems. I’ll share more details in the revised-and-updated Fentanyl, Inc. paperback edition (out September 22), but suffice it to say my investigation may have damaged them. The quarantine and other effects of coronavirus helped slow the global distribution of fentanyl products, leading to scarcity and price increases in the U.S. These have had some positive effects; an Ohio harm reduction worker told Emanuel Sferios that many opioid users were getting prescriptions for methadone and suboxone as a result.
Unfortunately this may be a short-term phenomenon. Wuhan is already returning to normal, though the government is closely monitoring citizens’ WeChat accounts to make sure they’re not socializing with the wrong people. But coronavirus may have spurred permanent changes in the fentanyl precursor supply. Former Special Agent with the DEA Terry Cole said that the Mexican cartels are taking the opportunity to set up operations making fentanyl ingredients themselves, with the help of corruptible chemistry professors, cutting out China all together.
The short answer is that coronavirus has dented the fentanyl trade. The long answer is that fentanyl will find its way back. And since synthetic drugs are the future of all drugs, it will likely come back worse than ever.