 "Kash Patel. AP File")
FBI Director Kash Patel has said that the US administration has sought the help of Indian law enforcement agencies to take down a China-backed global fentanyl network.
Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Patel said that although India is not a major consumer of fentanyl, it is increasingly being used as a transit hub for chemical precursors produced in China and shipped to Mexican drug cartels.
“They’re going to places like India, and I’m also doing operations in India,” Patel was quoted as saying on the podcast.
“They’re having the Mexican cartels now make this fentanyl down in Mexico still,” he added.
China evading scrutiny
Patel accused Chinese suppliers of evading scrutiny by routing fentanyl precursors through third countries like India to avoid direct enforcement.
He claimed this tactic is part of a calculated effort by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to target the US population, saying suppliers are “getting cute” with their smuggling routes.
“You don’t hear fentanyl deaths in India. You don’t really hear fentanyl deaths in England, Australia, New Zealand, or Five Eyes partners in Canada,” he said.
“The CCP have used it as a directed approach because we are their adversary.”
“Why don’t we go and take out generations of young men and women who might grow up to serve in the United States military, or become a cop, or become a teacher?” he added.
FBI, India coordinating on crackdown
Patel said the FBI has established direct lines of communication with Indian authorities to curb the flow of fentanyl precursors.
“I literally just got off the phone with the Indian government” he said.
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View All“I said, I need your help. This stuff’s coming into your country and then they’re moving it from your country because India is not consuming fentanyl.”
“We’re going to find these companies that buy it and we’re going to shut them down,” he added.
Patel confirmed that joint operations between the FBI and Indian law enforcement are already underway.
“We’re going to sanction them. We’re going to arrest them where we can. We’re going to indict them in America if we can. We’re going to indict them in India if we can,” he added.
According to a Times of India report, several Indian chemical manufacturers have been named in US indictments.
Vasudha Pharma Chem Limited and two of its senior executives have been charged with conspiring to ship four metric tons of NPP, a fentanyl precursor, to the US and Mexico.
Two other firms, Raxuter Chemicals and Athos Chemicals Pvt Ltd, were also indicted for allegedly supplying similar chemical precursors.
India outreach personal, strategic
Patel, the son of Gujarati immigrants, said his dealing with India was driven by both personal connections and strategic priorities.
“India is not the problem,” he said. “But if we don’t get ahead of it, it could become one,” he added.
He also alleged that Mexican cartels have rerouted their trafficking channels through Canada, using Vancouver as a new hub.
“They’re flying it into Vancouver,” he said, adding, “They’re taking the precursors up to Canada, manufacturing it up there, and doing their global distribution routes from up there because we were being so effective down south.”
Strategic threat
Patel said China’s role in the fentanyl trade isn’t driven by profit.
“They’re not making a ton of money off it,” he said. “So it’s really just for that purpose.”
He warned that chemical precursors have already appeared in Five Eyes countries and claimed the Chinese Communist Party is “just waiting to deploy” the finished product.
“The fentanyl itself isn’t being deployed into your country, but it’s there being manufactured,” he said. “The CCP just hasn’t directed it at you yet, and they know that,” he added.
Patel estimated that synthetic opioids caused over 74,000 deaths in the US in 2023, calling the fentanyl crisis “a tier one national security threat.”
With inputs from agencies