A sweeping federal investigation has pulled back the curtain on a massive fentanyl trafficking and money laundering scheme stretching from China to Ohio.
Prosecutors say the operation, dubbed “Operation Box Cutter,” is one of the largest U.S. efforts yet to target Chinese companies supplying precursors used to manufacture the deadly synthetic opioid.
At the heart of the case is Eric Michael Payne, 39, of Tipp City, Ohio. Court filings accuse Payne of funneling dangerous cutting agents to fentanyl traffickers across southern Ohio.
Investigators allege he purchased the substances from companies in China that posed as online pharmacies or legitimate chemical suppliers.
Some of those agents included a tranquilizer so strong it was estimated at 200 times more powerful than morphine, Townhall reports.
The Department of Justice confirmed Payne wasn’t acting alone.
His significant other, Auriyon Tresan Rayford, 24, allegedly allowed illegal materials to be stored at her home and, along with Ciandrea Bryne Davis, 39, of Atlanta, helped move more than $60,000 in cryptocurrency to Chinese nationals tied to the scheme.
According to prosecutors, the group’s purchases included at least 10 kilograms of chemical agents—enough to produce more than 150 kilograms of fentanyl mixtures for distribution.
Federal officials detailed how the overseas companies relied on intermediaries to advertise and ship the products while steering American buyers toward cryptocurrency wallets under their control.
The money was then deposited into foreign banks, disguising the transactions and sustaining a pipeline that pumped fentanyl components into U.S. communities, according to the Washington Examiner.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the takedown as “a first-of-its-kind international operation” that directly struck at the Chinese supply chain fueling America’s fentanyl crisis.
“We have indicted Chinese precursor companies and exposed their bank accounts and cryptocurrency pipelines, and funding sources that facilitate this deadly trade,” Patel said.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the charges highlight how fentanyl trafficking has evolved into a national security threat.
“Protecting Americans from fentanyl is one of this Department’s most important missions — and it starts with dismantling the international pipelines that bring deadly drugs and precursor to our shores,” she said.
“We will not rest until we stop Chinese companies from shipping poison to our citizens and bring everyone involved in this lethal trade to swift, complete justice.”
Sanctions were also announced against Guangzhou Tengyue, one of the Chinese companies named in the indictments, as well as two of its representatives, Zhanpeng Huang and Xiaojun Huang.
The Treasury Department said the action cuts off their access to international financial systems and aims to choke off the network’s ability to operate.
U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II of the Southern District of Ohio said the defendants “intentionally and openly marketed” substances that they knew would boost the potency of fentanyl sold in America.
“These deadly drug mixtures were then sold directly into our communities here in southern Ohio,” Gerace added, crediting the FBI and federal partners for dismantling what he called a “pipeline of poison.”
Payne and his co-defendants face conspiracy charges tied to fentanyl distribution and international money laundering.
Payne is also accused of tampering with evidence and possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute. If convicted, the group faces lengthy prison sentences under federal narcotics laws.
