A Chinese national is expected to arrive in Northeast Ohio this week to face federal charges that he imported and shipped large amounts of fentynal, carfentanil and other synthetic opioids to Ohio and elsewhere.
The case against 42-year-old Bin Wang began a year ago, when investigators looking into fatal overdoses in Summit County started tracking Chinese websites. Undercover agents wired money to China, where labs allegedly shipped the drugs to Wang in Massachusetts, and he’s accused of mailing large quantities from his warehouse there.
Mike Tobin of the U.S. attorney’s office, says Wang shipped multiple kilograms here and across the country.
“A kilogram of any drug is a lot, but when we’re talking about carfentanil, which can kill someone with just a few specks, it’s a lot of drugs, its very valuable and its very dangerous and deadly.”
Tobin says agents who searched Wang’s suburban Boston warehouses and home had to wear hazmat suits. A message asking for comment at one of Wang’s companies, Cambridge Chemicals, was not returned.
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman has been pushing for passage of a bill that would electronically track shipments of opioids from overseas.
"We can't comment on legislation," Tobin said, "but anything that would make it easier for law enforcement to figure out what's coming into the country and who is sending it would help us as we try and wrestle with this problem."
