The United States has rolled out sweeping sanctions against a global drug supply network with links to India, targeting individuals and entities accused of supplying precursor chemicals used by the Sinaloa Cartel to produce synthetic opioids.
India-based suppliers have been placed at the centre of the crackdown on a global synthetic opioid network, with the US Treasury department naming Gujarat-based operator Satishkumar Hareshbhai Sutaria and associate Yuktakumari Ashishkumar Modi for facilitating shipments of key fentanyl precursors, often mislabelled as “safe chemicals”, to Mexico and Guatemala.
The US has sanctioned 23 individuals and entities linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, showing both India’s role both as a source of precursor chemicals and as an enforcement partner in disrupting the illicit trade, according to the press release by US Treasury Department.
India has emerged as a key node in this network, particularly in the supply of precursor chemicals used to manufacture synthetic opioids.
According to the US Treasury, India-based pharmaceutical chemicals supplier Satishkumar Hareshbhai Sutaria, along with associate Yuktakumari Ashishkumar Modi, played a central role in facilitating shipments of fentanyl precursors such as N-Boc-4-Piperidone to Mexico and Guatemala.
The duo operated through companies including SR Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals and Agrat Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals. Indian authorities arrested both individuals in March 2025, marking a critical point of cooperation between Indian and US law enforcement agencies in dismantling the network.
