China, US seize synthetic drugs in coordinated anti-narcotics raid

Chinese and US anti-narcotics authorities have arrested five suspects and seized a batch of illicit drugs in a coordinated investigation into a cross-border drug smuggling and trafficking case, Reuters reports.

According to the report, simultaneous operations were carried out in China’s Liaoning and Guangdong provinces, as well as in the US states of Florida and Nevada in early April. The coordinated actions led to the arrest of two Chinese nationals and three US nationals.

Authorities seized synthetic drugs including protonitazene, an opioid, and bromazolam, a synthetic benzodiazepine.

The report comes days ahead of a planned visit to China by US President Donald Trump, amid ongoing tensions over drug policy and trade.

Earlier in 2025, Trump imposed additional tariffs on Chinese goods, citing Beijing’s alleged failure to curb the flow of precursor chemicals used in the production of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid contributing to overdose deaths in the United States.

China has dismissed the US allegations regarding fentanyl, stating that the issue is a domestic American problem and that responsibility lies with Washington.

In October last year, Trump agreed to halve fentanyl-related tariffs in exchange for Chinese cooperation in cracking down on illicit drug trade. However, the tariff decision was later invalidated by the US Supreme Court in February.

Separately, Chinese state media reported in March that China’s central province of Hubei launched a special campaign targeting traffickers of fentanyl precursor chemicals, authorizing arrests in several cases as part of the crackdown.

In early April, Chinese media also reported that the United States had extradited a Chinese fugitive suspected of drug smuggling and trafficking back to China.

By Vafa Guliyeva