US and Chinese officials coordinated to arrest 5 suspects in a cross-border anti-smuggling and drug trafficking campaign, Beijing announced on May 11, emphasizing cooperation between the two countries right before US President Donald Trump's state visit this week.
China Central Television (CCTV) reported that 3 US citizens and 2 Chinese citizens were arrested in a joint operation between the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the anti-drug forces of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.
The investigation took place in the US states of Florida and Nevada, along with the Chinese provinces of Liaoning and Guangdong.
According to CCTV, authorities have seized a large amount of drugs, including protonitazene and bromazolam.
In the May 11 news report, CCTV said that the joint arrest of 5 suspects was carried out from the beginning of April.
The successful crackdown on this case marks another important achievement in the process of strengthening substantive cooperation between drug law enforcement agencies of China and the US, showing the strong commitment of the two countries to jointly fight drug crime" - CCTV emphasized.
The announcement of the drug seizure took place just days before the important summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
On the agenda, reducing drug trafficking into the US, including fentanyl, is expected to be one of the key contents.
This is also the latest step in cooperation between officials of the two countries to crack down on cross-border drug activities. Last month, Washington handed over to Beijing a Chinese suspect wanted for drug crime after the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acted based on intelligence provided by China's anti-drug forces.
It is not yet clear whether these 2 campaigns are related to each other.
Preventing drugs, especially fentanyl, is one of the contents causing tension in US-China relations. Washington accuses Beijing of not doing enough to prevent the trade in precursors used to produce drugs. China rejects this accusation.
China has strongly committed to fentanyl networks. After meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in October last year, President Donald Trump agreed to reduce tariffs related to fentanyl.
