Zhang's alleged engagement successful the drugs commercialized came to an abrupt extremity erstwhile helium was arrested successful Mexico connected 31 October 2024.
A justice took the arguable determination to spot him nether location arrest, but Zhang managed to gaffe retired – reportedly done a spread successful a partition – and fly by backstage pitchy to Cuba and past connected to Russia.
Russian borderline officials detected his forged papers and helium was sent backmost to Cuba, which returned him to Mexico, from wherever helium was extradited to the United States.
His apprehension made headlines astir the world. The alumni web of Beijing's Peking University, wherever Zhang had studied Spanish, was stunned.
"Everybody was talking astir it," says Alex. "It was specified a shocking communicative and he's astir apt 1 of the astir celebrated radical Peking University produced."
In Culiacán, the cartel members accidental Zhang's lack was felt immediately.
Luis says it became "really hard to get the precursors".
"They took the antheral and that caused a mess," says Enrique. He says Zhang was "the 1 with the connections" successful China, and the cartels had to "start from scratch and physique a caller route".
Around the aforesaid time, the United States' Drug Enforcement Administration began to observe a diminution successful fentanyl purity, which it said was "consistent with indicators that galore Mexico-based fentanyl cooks are having trouble obtaining immoderate cardinal precursor chemicals".
But disruption successful cause proviso chains is usually temporary, successful what Dittmar describes arsenic a "constant crippled of feline and mouse".
Her probe has tracked how, erstwhile brokers are removed oregon cardinal chemicals controlled, fentanyl producers accommodate by uncovering substitutes and learning caller processes.
Individuals successful the proviso concatenation tin besides beryllium replaced – even, according to the cartel members, ones arsenic profoundly and wide connected arsenic Zhang is alleged to person been.
Enrique says determination is already idiosyncratic successful the framework – different Chinese person, but helium says helium can't accidental much "for my ain safety".
Another cartel member, who describes himself arsenic a coordinator liable for moving goods and unit wrong the cartel, says that though "all this started due to the fact that of him [Brother Wang]… helium near tons of connections to assistance america support going".
"If he's gone, idiosyncratic other volition measurement in… the concern volition not stop."
Additional Reporting by Ruth Evans and Miguel Angel Vega
English (US)·