Fentanyl overdose crisis linked to Chinese Communist Party in congressional report: 'Kill chain'

CHICAGO (WLS) -- More than 75,000 Americans die each year from fentanyl overdoses. Those deaths are primarily linked to drugs manufactured by the People's Republic of China, according to a new congressional report.

The drug pipeline has been described by northwest suburban Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi as a "kill chain," which begins with the Communist Party of China and ends in the Cook County morgue.

Krishnamoorthi's select House committee on the Chinese Communist party has issued a new investigative report.

In speaking with the ABC7 I-Team, Krishnamoorthi said China is feeding the fentanyl crisis here by subsidizing the production of ingredients used by traffickers.

A video produced by the House committee investigating the Chinese Communist Party, known as CCP, explains the "hard truth" of China's alleged role in America's fentanyl death crisis.

"The Chinese Communist Party promotes the Fentanyl crisis through government programs, protects fentanyl traffickers operating within its border and directly benefits from the fentanyl crisis," the video says.

Krishnamoorthi is the top Democrat on the House committee.

"In the US, more than 110,000 people died of fentanyl poisoning," Krishnamoorthi said. "And there were zero, no reported fentanyl-related deaths in China. And so what that illustrates to me is that the Chinese know exactly how to police internally to make sure that drug traffickers are held accountable. A lot of them are executed actually, and they keep their fentanyl problem down."

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The nearly eight-minute video lays out much of the report's findings, including tax rebates for the production of specific fentanyl precursors, as well as other synthetic drugs as long as those companies sell them outside China.

"The CCP provides government subsidies to PRC companies that manufacture fentanyl analogs, precursors and other synthetic narcotics so long as these companies sell these outside of China," Krishnamoorthi said.

Some raw material drug shipments from China that arrive at O'Hare are intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. Last week, a shipment containing over 1,000 pounds of unidentified powder was seized. One powder was determined to be used as a precursor for methamphetamine and anther was identified as a cutting agent for cocaine.

CBP in Chicago has also seized shipments of illegal pill presses that allow deadly fentanyl to be pressed in. The seized shipments are coming from China, according to CBP officials.

"So unfortunately, the consumer may think that they're ingesting a party drug when in fact they're ingesting party drug mixed with fentanyl," said Nadia Varela, Chief CBP Officer for Customs and Border Protection in Chicago.

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"This is really scary stuff," Krishnamoorthi said.

He said the U.S. should sanction some Chinese companies.

"Go after those companies that actually engage in legal commerce, but then have this side hustle where they're exporting illegal fentanyl to the US we have to sanction them," Krishnamoorthi said. "You can't participate in the US economy and do these illegal activities at the same time."

While China is the source problem of American fentanyl, according to Krishnamoorthi and his committee, it's not the only component.

Mexican drug cartels, especially the Chicago-heavy Sinaloa, transports Chinese fentanyl over the porous U.S. border. Also, there is a ready supply of fentanyl on Chinese websites with direct shipments to doorsteps.