September 22, 2025: Chinese executives sentenced for shipping 200 kilos of fentanyl precursors into the U.S.
Major Stories
The company used deceptive packaging like food containers to ensure delivery of illicit shipments. (US Attorney's Office, SDNY)
A federal judge in New York sentenced Qingzhou Wang and Yiyi Chen, the principal executive and marketing manager of China-based Amarvel Biotech, to a cumulative 40 years in prison after a jury found them guilty of fentanyl precursor importation and money laundering in February. Between November 2022 and June 2023, Wang and Chen sold over 200 kilograms of precursor chemicals to U.S. buyers with full knowledge that they would be used to make fentanyl. The investigation led to law enforcement seizing $900,000 in cryptocurrency and the domain names for 12 websites, all tied to Amarvel Biotech.
Interested in the details of this case? Read court documents from this case in our Prosecution Document Library.
Domestic News
Ohio suspended the license of a Toledo medspa using unsafe injectables. PSM’s September freight report is out. The FDA issued warning letters to telehealth companies dispensing compounded drugs.
On September 10, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy suspended the license of Synergy Primary Care and Wellness in Toledo. According to the suspension notice, Synergy’s owner admitted to buying semaglutide and tirzepatide from an unlicensed facility and purchasing Botox with Turkish labeling from Facebook. Inspectors also found problems with the medical practice’s record-keeping and medicine storage. PSM appreciates Ohio's vigilance in protecting patient safety in this under-regulated area: you can see their 2025 list of suspensions here, and read explanations of cases here.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued safety communications warning Americans not to use unauthorized devices for measuring blood pressure or monitoring infants’ vital signs because they may give inaccurate readings that prevent or lead to inappropriate medical treatment.
The agency also published almost 70 warning letters, mainly to telehealth companies selling compounded versions of FDA-approved drugs, especially GLP-1 weight loss drugs, without acknowledging that the compounded products are not FDA-approved.
A Henderson, Nevada, man is facing federal charges for allegedly smuggling sildenafil and tadalafil, the active ingredients in Viagra and Cialis, into the United States and selling them as supplements online and to smoke shops, convenience stores, and adult novelty stores.
PSM’s September Freight Fraud Report reports on hundreds of pharmaceutical shipments from unregistered facilities that made their way into the country in June and July.
Final disposition of shipments of semaglutide, tirzepatide, and pembrolizumab from unregistered facilities, June - July 2025
Pill presses
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts charged two Lawrence men for their alleged roles in a counterfeit pill operation after law enforcement seized more than 18 kilograms of suspected controlled substances, including counterfeit Adderall and Percocet pills, and a pill press from an apartment in Methuen.
Dalien Enrique Nieves-Santiago, of Naranjito, Puerto Rico, received a seven-year prison sentence for possession of a pill press die used to make counterfeit oxycodone, drug trafficking, and firearms violations. Customs and Border Protection officers tipped authorities off to the operation when they discovered a pill die set on its way from China to Nieves-Santiago’s wife, Zuleyka Santiago-Andino. A search of their home yielded two kilograms of a blue bonding agent and more than 1,000 Xanax pills made with fentanyl. Santiago-Andino also pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
Items seized in Methuen, August 2025. (U.S. Attorneys Office, District of Massachusetts)
We were pleased to see coverage of our biannual pill press report in Illinois’ Country Herald last week. If you missed it, read it here.
Legislation
U.S. Senators John Cornyn, Jerry Moran, John Fetterman, Thom Tillis, Amy Klobuchar, and Chris Coons introduced the Fight Illicit Pill Presses Act, which would require pill presses, punches, and dies to carry serial numbers so that authorities investigating counterfeit pill production could track them.
Keep up with state legislation in the areas of pill presses, prescription drug affordability boards, and drug importation.
Patient safety issues in the GLP-1 space this week
An article in the San Francisco Standard examined a San Francisco Bay Area trend of tech industry professionals injecting research-grade peptides, including GLP-1s, hoping for boosts in health or performance. A pathology professor at Standard explained the risks of this practice, which include accidental overdose, vomiting, severe dehydration, and sepsis from contaminated ingredients or preparing injections in unsterile conditions.
It’s not a good idea to rely on Reddit for health information, but sometimes users give terrific advice. On September 16, for example, a poster asked whether they should be worried about injecting themselves with semaglutide they ordered without a prescription from an online pharmacy and entirely without medical supervision.
The reply is a good one. No site that sells you prescription drugs without a prescription is safe, and people shouldn't inject GLP-1s without the care of a physician.
Register now for "Breaking the Status Quo," a virtual summit about PBM reform hosted by Pharmacists United for Truth and Transparency
Wednesday, September 24 at 10:00 am EDT
International News
Interpol’s Operation Lionfish-Mayag III intercepted roughly three million meth and fentanyl pills in 18 countries. Additional news in Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, and Vietnam.
Pills seized during Operation Lionfish Mayag III, which ran between June 30 and July 13, 2025 (Interpol)
Interpol announced the results of Operation Lionfish Mayag III, a two-week initiative to combat the synthetic drug trade in 18 Asian and North American countries. Between June 30 and July 13, authorities seized 76 tons of drugs, including 297 million methamphetamine pills, 190,000 fentanyl tablets, fentanyl precursors, and nitazenes.
A court order authorized government agencies in Uzbekistan to destroy 3.2 million units of dangerous counterfeit medicines, including 101,600 bottles of contaminated 'Doc-1 Max' cough syrup that killed 68 Uzbek children in 2022.
Drug regulators in India, Pakistan, and Vietnam seized counterfeit medicines.