Thousands of Chinese companies are making synthetic opioids and shipping them around the world.

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Sammy [not her real name] is an unlikely drug trafficker. She is one of what international law enforcement agencies estimate could be thousands of online sales representatives, working for illicit Chinese pharmaceutical and chemical companies producing and smuggling illegal laboratory made drugs.

The US government has long accused China of flooding the country with deadly drugs like fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times stronger than heroin, claims the Chinese government denies. The US says Chinese-made opioids are fuelling the worst drug crisis in the country’s history. In 2022 more than 70,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses.

According to a report published by the US select committee on the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese government provides subsidies to companies openly trafficking illicit synthetic drugs. The report found tens of thousands of posts online advertising illegal drugs and pre-cursors.

The study claims that “wholly state owned” companies are involved in the trafficking of drugs. The Chinese government has consistently denied knowledge of the illegal drug trade.