Two Indian Companies Charged by U.S. for Supplying Fentanyl Ingredients

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday that two Indian chemical companies, Athos Chemicals and Raxuter Chemicals, both based in Gujarat, have been indicted for allegedly importing ingredients used to produce the highly addictive opioid fentanyl into the United States and Mexico.

Charges Filed Against Companies and Executive

Both companies face charges in Brooklyn for distributing and conspiring to distribute precursor chemicals for fentanyl production. Additionally, Raxuter and its senior executive, Bhavesh Lathiya, 36, were charged with smuggling and introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce.

Lathiya was arrested on Saturday in New York and is being held without bail. Prosecutors argued that he poses a flight risk and a significant danger to the community.

U.S. Response to Fentanyl Trafficking

“The Justice Department is targeting every link in fentanyl trafficking supply chains that span countries and continents and too often end in tragedy in the United States,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement.

Neither Athos nor Raxuter has commented on the charges. A federal public defender representing Lathiya also declined to comment.

Fentanyl Crisis and Allegations

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is approximately 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. In 2022, opioids were responsible for around 82,000 deaths in the U.S.—a tenfold increase since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Prosecutors allege that since February 2024, the defendants supplied precursor chemicals for fentanyl production, concealing their activities by mislabeling shipments, falsifying customs documents, and making false declarations at border crossings.

Details from the Indictments

One indictment states that in October 2024, during video calls with an undercover agent posing as a fentanyl manufacturer, Lathiya agreed to sell 20 kilograms of the precursor chemical 1-boc-4-piperidone, suggesting it be mislabeled as an antacid. This followed the agent’s praise for the quality and yield of fentanyl produced with previously supplied chemicals.

Another indictment alleges that Athos Chemicals agreed in February 2024 to sell 100 kilograms of the same chemical to a known Mexican drug trafficker associated with a drug trafficking organization producing fentanyl.

If convicted, Lathiya could face up to 53 years in prison, according to the Justice Department.