An undated image of nitazene tablets in the hand of a police officer in Australia. (Australian Federal Police).
A Chinese national has been indicted by the federal authorities in Florida for his alleged role in a plot to import and distribute large quantities of a new synthetic opioid, protonitazene, which is “significantly more potent than fentanyl,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a May 11 statement.
Jia Guo and Seven Schmidt, an associate from Las Vegas, Nevada, are charged with conspiracy to import protonitazene into the United States from China and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute protonitazene. “If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the two counts,” the attorney’s office said.
