The Chinese graduate accused of being Mexico's 'fentanyl king'

The Chinese graduate accused of being Mexico's 'fentanyl king'Image source, Government of MexicoImage caption, Zhang Zhidong is awaiting trial in the US, accused of drug trafficking and money launderingBy By Shawn Yuan BBC Global China Unit , Reporting fromCuliacán, MexicoPublished2 minutes ago"Brother Wang was very important. He was number one," says Enrique, chuckling knowingly.Enrique – not his real name – describes himself as a high-level co-ordinator in Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, one of the world's most powerful criminal organisations.On the outskirts of Sinaloa's state capital city, Culiacán, sitting in a parked car where no-one can overhear him, he explains how ingredients to make the deadly drug fentanyl are shipped thousands of miles from Chinese factories to laboratories in Mexico. Members of his cartel credit Brother Wang with establishing this supply chain.Known in the criminal world as the "king of fentanyl", Brother Wang is a 39-year-old Chinese national, whose real name is Zhang Zhidong, according to the US Department of Justice. Arrested in Mexico in 2024, Zhang later made a dramatic escape before he was recaptured and extradited to the US in 2025.Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin. It kills tens of thousands of people each year, mostly in the US, where the finished drug often ends up. A dose as small as a few grains of salt can be lethal.US President Donald Trump has labelled fentanyl dealers "narco-terrorists", classified the drug and its components as weapons of mass destruction, and used the fentanyl trade as a reason for imposing tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada.Image source, US Customs and Border Protection via ReutersImage caption, US Customs and Border Protection staff display fentanyl and methamphetamine seized from a truck crossing from Mexico into ArizonaWhen Zhang appeared in court in New York in 2025, the Deputy Attorney General at the time, Todd Bl...