US firm settles claim it shipped fentanyl

US Shipping and logistics company IMC International has agreed to pay $400,000 to settle government claims that the helped Chinese chemical companies ship fentanyl-making chemicals to the United States, according to US authorities.

- LAURA GOTTESDIENER

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas. It marks the first time a US shipping company has settled allegations that it replaced US Controlled Substances Act by transshipping fentanyl precursors through the United States. The monetary settlement does not include an admission of guilt.

“Chemical smugglers increasingly route fentanyl precursors through the US and then down to Mexico, where the chemicals are turned into street fentanyl in clandestine labs. These packages are then in plain sight on the deluge of cheap e-commerce goods that arrive by air from China to the US each day.