New York: In a landmark prosecution targeting international synthetic drug suppliers, Bhavesh Lathiya, the founder and executive of Surat-based Raxuter Chemicals, was sentenced to 54 months in US federal prison by United States District Judge Pamela K Chen in Brooklyn.

The sentence follows Lathiya's guilty plea in April 2026 for illegally distributing and smuggling over 50 pounds of precursor chemicals into the United States, knowing they would be used to manufacture fentanyl.

In addition to his 54-month prison term, Lathiya was ordered to pay a forfeiture of $24,560 and will be deported to India upon completion of his sentence.

The sentence was announced by Joseph Nocella Jr, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Pete Gizas, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York).

“During a national crisis when hundreds of Americans were dying every day of fentanyl overdoses, Lathiya smuggled and distributed chemical ingredients, including those that were the building blocks for this deadly drug, without any regard for the harm that his conduct would cause,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.

“With today’s sentence, the message is loud and clear that our Office will hold precursor traffickers like the defendant accountable for their role in the fentanyl supply chain.”

“Bhavesh Lathiya’s conduct placed him at the source of the fentanyl supply chain, where he knowingly moved the chemical building blocks of a lethal drug into the United States through deception, false labeling, and international shipments in a prosecution that breaks new ground against an India-based supplier,” stated HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Gizas.

“By feeding the market for fentanyl at its earliest stage, he turned chemical commerce into a direct threat to public safety, widening the reach of a drug that continues to inflict profound harm across our communities. This Homeland Security Task Force investigation, co-led by HSI New York, demonstrates our resolve to attack the fentanyl supply chain before the poison is manufactured, packaged and sold to the public.”

Undercover operation uncovers fraudulent shipments

Court documents reveal that Lathiya supplied precursor materials to the US and Mexico via international mail carriers. The materials distributed included all ingredients required to synthesise fentanyl via primary chemical pathways.

To bypass border checks, Lathiya used fraudulent parcel manifests and falsified declarations.

  • June 29, 2024: A package sent to the Eastern District of New York was declared as "Vitamin C". It actually contained 1-boc-4-piperidone, an illegally imported List I fentanyl precursor.
  • October 2024: Lathiya held video calls with an HSI undercover officer. After the officer noted that Mexican clients obtained high yields from the initial shipment, Lathiya agreed to supply 20 kilograms of 1-boc-4-piperidone and suggested labeling it as an antacid.
  • November 23, 2024: Lathiya shipped approximately 20 kilograms of 1-boc-4-piperidone to New York mislabeled as an antacid.

Drug cartels, including Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, have increasingly sourced fentanyl precursors from firms in India and China. This conviction follows earlier Department of Justice indictments against three Chinese chemical companies (United States v Anhui Rencheng Technology Co. Ltd et al. and United States v. Hefei GSK Trade Co. Ltd et al.).

The case was handled by the International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section of the US Attorney's Office, led by Assistant US Attorneys Adam Amir, William P Campos, Chand Edwards-Balfour and Katherine P Onyshko, supported by Paralegal Specialists Cleon Thomas and Zoubida Bicane.