Opioid Distributor Arrested For Overdose Deaths In Northeast Ohio

A Chinese national has been arrested for distributing opioids and other drugs in Northeast Ohio. Bin Wang, 42, was arrested in Massachusetts for his role in bringing the narcotics into the U.S. and then distributing them. (To stay up to date on local stories, subscribe to the Patch Cleveland newsletter. As news breaks and the story develops, you will be the first to receive updates from Patch.)

“Increasingly, the opioids that are killing our friends and neighbors are being sent here from China,” said Acting U.S. Attorney David Sierleja in a statement. “Shutting down this pipeline will help in our efforts to turn the tide on the opioid epidemic. We will focus on prevention, education, and aggressive law enforcement, both here and around the world.”

Law enforcement's investigation into Wang began in August 2016, after several shipments of opioids to Northeast Ohio were connected to a series of fatal overdoses in the region, the U.S. Attorney for Northeast Ohio said.

During the course of the investigation, law enforcement found several Chinese websites selling fentanyl and similar opioids. Those narcotics would then be shipped via FedEx. One of the websites was used to buy acetylfentanyl that was used in the overdose deaths of two Summit County residents in 2015.

Undercover agents then began buying opioids and other drugs from a man in China identified as "Gordon Jin." Agents wired money to China using Western Union or MoneyGram. That was when investigators learned that Jin sent the drugs to Wang in Massachusetts.

Want then distributed the drugs in the U.S., including locations in Northeast Ohio. In a statement, the U.S. Attorney for Northeast Ohio said law enforcement chronicled several sales and shipments of narcotics from China to Massachusetts to Ohio from November 2016 through July 2017.

“The importation of opioids and other synthetic drugs from China has played a significant role in America’s current drug use epidemic. Over 60,000 people a year die from drug overdoses in this country, and halting all methods of drug trafficking, including by way of the Internet is a top priority of the DEA," DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Plancon said in a statement.

The investigation into Wang and the rest of the narcotics wing is ongoing.

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