China, US arrest 5 in joint drug smuggling investigation, Xinhua reports

BEIJING, May 11 - Chinese and U.S. anti-narcotics authorities arrested five suspects and seized a batch of drugs in a joint investigation of a drug smuggling and trafficking case, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.

The authorities carried out simultaneous operations in China's Liaoning and Guangdong provinces and the U.S. states of Florida and Nevada in early April, leading to the arrests of two Chinese nationals and three U.S. nationals, Xinhua said.

The drugs seized include the synthetic opioid protonitazene and bromazolam, a synthetic benzodiazepine, according to Xinhua.

The report came a few days ahead of a China visit by U.S. President Donald Trump, who had in early 2025 imposed additional tariffs on Chinese goods citing Beijing's failure to stem the flow of precursor chemicals for the deadly opioid fentanyl into the U.S.

China has dismissed the U.S. allegations about fentanyl, calling the issue a U.S. problem whose responsibility lies with Washington.

Trump agreed in October last year to halve the fentanyl tariff in exchange for Beijing cracking down on the illicit drug trade. The tariff was invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court in February.

Xinhua reported in March that China's central province of Hubei launched a special campaign targeting traffickers in fentanyl precursor chemicals, and had authorised the arrests of seven people as of February.

The state media reported in early April that the U.S. had handed over a Chinese fugitive suspected of drug smuggling and trafficking to China. REUTERS