The Kingpin
The US offers a $5 million bounty for my old pal
Much of my book Fentanyl, Inc. is dedicated to investigating a Wuhan-based chemical company called Yuancheng. I determined they sell more fentanyl ingredients than any company in the world.
For a while after the book’s publication, though, I thought I was crazy. The US government didn’t seem to care. This was surprising, considering how Yuancheng’s products have killed people across the US, how their main client is Mexican cartels, and how they advertise flagrantly on the internet.
But it turns out the US was investigating Yuancheng simultaneously. The Department of Justice just announced charges against the company’s 68-year-old CEO, Ye Chuan Fa, and the State Department is offering $5 million for information leading to his capture.
Last month the US Attorney’s Office also seized about 49 Bitcoin — worth $2.3 million — from a crypto wallet traced to him. Here’s more information; news reports call him Chuen Fat Yip, which is the Cantonese version of his name.
The announcement has made international news. It’s like an old pal has suddenly become famous. Back in 2018 I interviewed him at Yuancheng headquarters — an old hotel in Wuhan — along with two Yuancheng saleswomen who both called themselves Amy. (Photo below.)