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India, China top state actors in supply of precursors for illicit fentanyl—US annual intel report

The annual threat assessment report, which consists of unclassified intelligence relating to national security threats to the US, was published by office of US DNI Tulsi Gabbard.

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New Delhi: The US has called China and India the top state actors in the direct and indirect supply of precursor chemicals for illicit fentanyl production by criminal organisations. The use of synthetic opioids—which includes fentanyl—has claimed the lives of at least 55,000 people in the US between October 2023 and September 2024, the latest Annual Threat Assessment (ATA) of the US intelligence community has said. 

“These groups [transnational criminal organisations or TCOs] are often enabled, both directly and indirectly, by state actors, such as China and India, as sources of precursors and equipment for drug traffickers…China remains the primary source country for illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and pill pressing equipment, followed by India,” said the 2025 ATA report, published by the office of US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard Tuesday. 

The report contains unclassified intelligence gathered by the American intelligence community on the most direct and serious threats to the US in the next year. It looks at all forms of threats including terrorism, weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), cyber and technological threats, biothreats, economic issues, even environmental concerns and the use of natural resources. 

This ATA is the first report published under the administration of President Donald Trump in his second tenure at the White House. For the US, the spread of illicit fentanyl has become a major issue. 

Fentanyl is a synthetic drug opioid approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as a pain relief medicine and anesthetic. It is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin. For Trump, the continued import of fentanyl and its use as a recreational drug has become a national security issue. 

On 1 February, Trump issued country-specific tariffs against China, Mexico and Canada due to continued flow of illicit fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the US. Trump specifically accused the Chinese government of subsidising and incentivising its domestic chemical companies to export fentanyl and related chemicals, which are used to produce synthetic opioids that are sold illicitly in the US. 

Similarly, his order on Mexico claimed there exists an alliance between cartels operating in the country and the Mexican government, as the reasoning behind the imposition of the new tariffs. Similarly, he accused the Canadian government of doing little to prevent the flow of fentanyl for the imposition of new tariffs. 

However, this is the first major report under his administration, which has claimed that India has become the largest supplier of illicit fentanyl and other precursor chemicals to the US after China. 

The 2024 ATA, under the previous administration of former US president Joe Biden, made a mention of the flow of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals from India. 

“Mexico-based TCOs also are sourcing precursor chemicals to a lesser extent from other nations such as India,” said the 2024 ATA, under President Biden. The 2023 report makes no mention of India’s links to the fentanyl trade. 

(Edited by Gitanjali Das)


Also Read: The fentanyl crisis: Before Trump tariffs, Canada saw 2 big drug busts linked to people of Indian origin


 

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