Fentanyl Production -- Smuggling Into the U.S.

"These operations have the potential to expand and fill any supply void created by disruptions to Mexico-sourced fentanyl production and trafficking."

 "In addition to the synthetic drug threat from Mexico, elevated synthetic drug production in Canada -- particularly from sophisticated fentanyl 'super laboratories' such as the type seized by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in October 2024 -- presents a growing concern for the United States."

U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency report

 

"I determined that the failure of Canada to arrest, seize, detain, or otherwise intercept drug trafficking organizations, other drug and human traffickers, criminals at large, and illicit drugs constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States."

U.S. President Donald Trump

Kayleen Devlin & Yi Ma   Reuters

The U.S. DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) released its 2025 report focusing on threats to the United States posed by illegal drugs and drug traffickers and cartels. Over 84,000 Americans died of drug overdoses from October 2023 to October 2024. China's role in exporting the ingredients required in the manufacture of fentanyl in North America also made an appearance in the report, along with actions of major Mexican drug cartels.

 

In late October of 2024 the "largest and most sophisticated fentanyl and methamphetamine drug superlab in Canada", was broken up by the RCMP. According to the RCMP, the laboratory was capable of having produced 95 million doses of fentanyl. 54 kilograms of fentanyl, "massive amounts of precursor chemicals", and hundreds of kilograms in other drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA (ecstasy) also seized. 

Along with the drugs were discovered 89 guns, inclusive of 45 handguns, 212 'Ar-15-style rifles and submachine guns. 

 

Seized firearms and illegal drugs, including fentanyl, shown at a press conference at Mountie headquarters in Surrey, B.C., October 31, 2024. DARRYL DYCK / AP

 

While drugs do indeed flow north to south, the vast majority of drugs smuggled into the United States arrive from the southwestern border via Mexico. U.S. border officials seized 21,000 kilograms of fentanyl, 158,000 kilograms of methamphetamine and over 56,000 kilograms of cannabis coming through Mexico into the United States in 2024. American authorities seized 43 kilograms of fentanyl and72 kilograms of heroin crossing the border from Canada to the United States in 2025, for comparison. 

In 2020, Canada was identified by the DEA as a major source of high-quality cannabis. Indigenous reserves on both sides of the border were identified in the DEA report as significant routes for the smuggling of illicit drugs. 

"Canada and the United States share a common goal of saving lives and protecting communities from the devastating impacts of the illegal fentanyl trade."

"Canadian law enforcement agencies at all levels -- municipal, provincial, and federal -- are focused on dismantling organized crime networks and shutting down illegal drug production operations."

 "The DEA report reinforces what we already know -- the fight against fentanyl must be relentless, coordinated, and evidence-based."

Pierre-Alain Bujold, spokesperson, Privy Council Office, Canada

Beijing's Deep Concern for Human Dignity

"The facts of the crimes committed by the Canadian nationals involved in the cases are clear, and the evidence is solid and sufficient."

"The Chinese judicial authorities have handled the cases in strict accordance with the law, and have fully guaranteed the rights and interests of the Canadian nationals concerned."

"China always imposes severe penalties on drug-related crimes and maintains a 'zero tolerance' attitude toward the drug problem."

"[Canada should] respect the rule of law and China's judicial sovereignty [and] stop making irresponsible remarks."

China's Ottawa Embassy 

"Global Affairs Canada [Canadian Foreign Affairs Department] can confirm it is aware that, earlier this year, Canadians were executed in the People's Republic of China."

"Canada strongly condemns China's use of the death penalty, which is irreversible and inconsistent with basic human dignity."

"Canada repeatedly called for clemency for these individuals at the senior-most levels."

Foreign Affairs Canada 

The Chinese flag flies outside Beijing’s embassy to Canada in Ottawa. (Photo: Jharnett44 via Wikimedia Commons)  

 

China is distinct in the world for many reasons, and one of its distinctions is its free use of the death penalty for what it considers to be capital offense crimes. Although there are many countries across the globe that continue to use the death penalty -- the United States among them -- China has the distinction of putting more people to death as a crime penalty than all other countries combined. A runner-up in the state-death competition is the Islamic Republic of Iran whose mode of execution includes hanging, crucifixion, stoning and firing squads.

 

China's choice of state execution for those judged to have run afoul of its criminal laws in capital offenses also die by firing squads, although Beijing has latterly introduced lethal injections as well. Once a charge has been laid by the state of anyone having committed a capital offense, it is almost unknown for a court to strike a trial, instead rubber-stamping guilt with the accompanying penalty of execution. With its vast population of over 1.4 billion people, Beijing is not known to be sensitive to any concept as remote to it as 'human rights'.

 

In the instance of the publicly newly-revealed death by state execution of Canadian citizens, neither the Chinese embassy in Canada's capital of Ottawa or Canada's Foreign Affairs department divulged just how many Canadians had been executed, nor identified those executed by publishing their names. An Abbotsford, British Columbia native, Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, known to have been sentenced to death by a Chinese court in 2019 on a charge of drug smuggling, however, was not among the executed. 

 

A photo submitted by the RCMP shows a clandestine drug lab where Mounties say a large quantity of fentanyl was discovered in Mission, B.C. in November 2023. (submitted by Mission RCMP)

Those who met their untimely fate may have been dual citizens of Canada and China. China does not recognize or give credence to dual citizenship, and feels no diplomatic sensitivity in ignoring Canadian citizenship alongside Chinese citizenship. Although the Chinese head of mission at the embassy in Ottawa did not clarify whether any of these executed were involved in drug smuggling or trafficking, they did state that Beijing has a "zero tolerance" approach to drug crime.

 

There are, it seems, altogether 100 Canadians currently detained in China. It is interesting to note that while China deals severely with anyone identified and caught being involved in the drug trade, it is from China that the artificial, laboratory-produced opioid Fentanyl arrived in North America to wreak deadly havoc in Canada and the United States. Although on appeal Beijing listed fentanyl making it illegal to transport or sell it abroad, the precursor chemicals associated with fentanyl production still emanate from Chinese labs, where criminal gangs in North America employ 'cooks' to produce lethal fentanyl.

 

Health Canada says it can only take a few grains of fentanyl to kill someone. (Ben Nelms/CBC)

"As in pre­vi­ous years, exe­cu­tion totals do not include the esti­mat­ed thou­sands of exe­cu­tions car­ried out by the world’s lead­ing exe­cu­tion­er, China, where exe­cu­tion data is con­sid­ered a state secret; secre­cy prac­tices and chal­lenges access­ing infor­ma­tion in Afghanistan, North Korea, Palestine, Syria, and Vietnam also cre­at­ed dif­fi­cul­ties in iden­ti­fy­ing min­i­mum totals. This world­wide increase was pri­mar­i­ly dri­ven by a 48% rise in exe­cu­tions in Iran, which account­ed for 74% of exe­cu­tions world­wide. Iran (at least 853 exe­cu­tions), Saudi Arabia (172 exe­cu­tions), Somalia (at least 38 exe­cu­tions), the U.S. (24 exe­cu­tions), and Iraq (at least 16 exe­cu­tions) were the top five coun­tries respon­si­ble for record­ed exe­cu­tions."

Death Penalty Information Center