US senators warn of China-cartel links forming a global ‘Silk Road of crime’

Lawmakers from both parties are warning that Chinese criminal groups have helped build what officials call a “Silk Road of crime”, a global network that launders Latin American cartel profits and supplies the chemicals used to make fentanyl bound for the United States.

At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, members of the Caucus on International Narcotics Control said Chinese money brokers and Latin American cartels have merged their operations into a system that blurs the line between trade and trafficking.

In 2023, the Justice Department charged executives at Hubei Amarvel Biotech with disguising shipments of fentanyl precursors as dog food and other products. Prosecutors said the company marketed the chemicals directly to Mexican cartels, offering “stealth shipping” and advice on dodging customs checks.

A separate investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), known as Operation Fortune Runner, uncovered a California-based network that laundered tens of millions of dollars in cartel profits through Chinese underground banks.