[In the player above: What is fentanyl? A closer take a look at the lethal drug.]
AKRON, Ohio - - The dad of an
Akron guy who fatally overdosed in 2015 on a fentanyl analogue is taking legal action against the supposed Chinese drug trafficking company implicated of manufacturing it and sending it to Ohio.
Its declared operators, Fujing Zheng, 40, and his dad Guahuang Zheng, 68 - - were both indicted in 2018 under federal drug kingpin laws.
" The unlawful circulation of fentanyl into the United States by foreign narcotics traffickers has intensified the opioid epidemic," checks out the complaint. "Narcoterrorism companies like the Zheng [drug trafficking organization] are at the center of the scheme."
Authorities believe the Zhengs ran online shops that took orders for controlled substances, then delivered them wholesale to "re-shipping" companies in destination nations like the U.S. Those re-shippers separated the bulk delivery into specific shipments that were then sent out domestically to the purchasers, according to the complaint.
The Zhengs are believed to have utilized front companies run by supposed co-conspirators for shipping, concealing drugs inside bulk freight shipments from China to the front companies' U.S. offices and falsifying the shipping manifests. In this method, the drugs avoided detection by customs agents, according to the grievance.
The problem was at first filed in 2020 by James Rauh on behalf of the estate of his 37-year-old kid Thomas, who passed away in March 2015 from an overdose of acetyl fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that's comparable to fentanyl.
Thomas was prescribed opioids after a rollerblading mishap, according to the complaint.
" He became addicted and, like lots of addicted users, turned to heroin. Regardless of his best efforts - - and as many people in Ohio and throughout the country have actually experienced themselves - - he might not overcome his addiction," it reads.
Thomas matured in
Akron's Highland Square and attended St. Vincent – – St. Mary's and Firestone, according to his obituary:
Tom dedicated himself to his music; writing songs, producing electronic music and events. Tom worked for Rauh Polymers Inc., the family company, in sales and production.
In Costa
Mesa, California, he coped with his veteran girlfriend, Edie, pursued his enthusiasm for music and rode his valued bike. Tom had numerous friends and was well-loved, motivating others to increase above life's obstacles, he showed a constant empathy to those who are suffering. Tom's joke-telling, cooking, writing, chess playing, advice-giving, and many other talents will be missed, together with his brave and gorgeous heart.
Legacy.com obituary for Thomas Henry Rauh
Thomas died in March 2015 after injecting himself with pure acetyl fentanyl, which he thought was heroin. He was 37.
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Leroy Steele, of
Akron, is the founded guilty drug dealership who provided the fentanyl that killed Thomas along with 23-year-old Carrie Dobbins, also in March 2015, according to a previous press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to the complaint, Steele emailed the Zhengs' company in February 2015, aiming to buy acetyl fentanyl. A reply came a day later:
Dear Sir
We are expert acetylfentanyl producer in China, our items are all highest quality, a great deal of United States and Europe clients purchase mostly from us on a monthly basis. ……. Rate of 1kg acetylfentanyl is $6,800 USD, pls be kept in mind that the price we provide including shipping expense. …….
Pls tell me the number of amount you wan na purchase? Do you wan na have a sample order? Where are you from?
Feb. 15, 2016 email from Zheng drug trafficking company to Leroy Steele.
Steele is now serving a 20-year jail sentence.
An Ohio cops investigation into Rauh's death led to the Zhengs. Undercover officers emailed them, seeking to purchase a "big quantity" of acetyl fentanyl, and within about a week received 10 grams of the drug, according to the problem.
In 2018, undercover officers reached out again, asking the Zhengs to make tablets laced with the amphetamine-like stimulant dibutylone, and asking that they be produced to appear like trademarked Adderall tablets. They paid in Bitcoin for 50,000 of the laced tablets. At police demands, the Zhengs also made drugs with cathinones, or bath salts, to look like trademarked cancer-fighting drugs.
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The new case brings six counts, consisting of wrongful death, civil conspiracy and an infraction of the Anti-terrorism Act of 1990. It looks for at least $15 million in payment, in addition to a minimum of $2 million in punishment.
A judge earlier this year given Rauh's estate an $18 million judgment in the case - - after it was first filed in Summit County in 2020 - - however that judgment just overloads home the Zhengs own in Ohio and was considered "insufficient." The case was moved this week to Ohio's Northern District federal court, expanding the reach of that judgment to consist of property outside the state, or home taken by U.S. authorities in the future.
The Zhengs' whereabouts are unknown, according to the grievance. Chinese authorities tried to serve the judgment at numerous addresses in Shanghai thought to be connected to the Zhengs or their virtual drug stores, however they could not be discovered.
The U.S. Department of State is offering an up to $5 million benefit for information causing the arrest of Fujing or his dad Guanghua. Anyone with information is advised to call or text the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency at 323-761-0481 or email ZhengInfo@DEA.gov. Tipsters' identities are kept strictly private.
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