US intel links India to fentanyl trafficking

Washington: A US intelligence report has named India and China as “sources of precursors and equipment for drug traffickers” and the primary source country for illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and pill pressing equipment.”

The ‘2025 Annual Threat Assessment (ATA)’, released on Tuesday, is the Intelligence Community’s (IC) official, coordinated evaluation of an array of threats to US citizens, the homeland, and US interests in the world. Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids remain the most lethal drugs trafficked into the United States, causing more than 52,000 US deaths in a 12-month period ending in October 2024, it said.

Fentanyl is a potent opioid drug that is blamed for widespread drug addiction in the US.

The Trump administration has initiated a crackdown on illegal import of fentanyl and also linked it with tariffs adjustments in case of some countries.

Some transnational criminal organisations (TCOs) are producing and trafficking large amounts of illicit drugs that are imperiling American lives and livelihoods, the report said.

Mexico-based TCOs—including the Sinaloa Cartel and the New Generation Jalisco Cartel—remain the dominant producers and suppliers of illicit drugs, including fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and South American-sourced cocaine, for the US market, the report said.