A Gujarat businessman has been sentenced to more than four years in prison in the United States for using his Surat-based chemical company to smuggle substances used to manufacture fentanyl, a highly dangerous synthetic opioid.
Bhavesh Lathiya, 37, the founder and head of Surat-based Raxuter Chemicals, was sentenced by US District Judge Pamela K. Chen to 54 months in prison. He had pleaded guilty in April to smuggling and distributing chemical precursors, knowing that they would be used to manufacture fentanyl.
Lathiya was also ordered to forfeit $24,560. After completing his prison sentence, he will be deported from the US.
Surat Company Supplied Fentanyl Precursor Chemicals
According to court filings from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Raxuter Chemicals sold and smuggled more than 50 pounds of chemicals commonly used in fentanyl production.
The chemicals were supplied to buyers in the United States and Mexico. Prosecutors said the company shipped the substances through international mail and package delivery services.
Investigators found that the chemicals being distributed by the company covered the materials required to manufacture fentanyl through the most common synthesis routes.
To avoid detection by authorities, Lathiya allegedly mislabelled packages and falsified customs declarations, making the shipments appear to contain different substances.
Shipment Declared as ‘Vitamin C’
One shipment highlighted in the court filings was delivered to an address in the Eastern District of New York on June 29, 2024.
The package was declared on its shipping manifest as “Vitamin C.” However, investigators found that it actually contained 1-Boc-4-piperidone, a List I chemical that was unlawfully imported as a fentanyl precursor.
The case later expanded when investigators began tracking Lathiya’s communications with an undercover officer.
Undercover Operation Exposed Chemical Deal
Homeland Security Investigations in New York, working as part of a Homeland Security Task Force, recorded Lathiya discussing chemical sales with an undercover officer during video calls on October 2 and October 15, 2024.
During the conversations, the undercover officer told Lathiya that clients in Mexico were satisfied with the quality of the chemicals previously supplied and with the amount of final product they were able to obtain.
Lathiya then agreed to sell 20 kilograms of 1-Boc-4-piperidone, a chemical building block used in the manufacturing process.
According to the court filings, Lathiya proposed declaring the chemical as an antacid in order to avoid scrutiny during shipping.
The undercover officer described the substance as a controversial product that was banned and suggested that sending it to Mexico could be easier because of the pressure authorities were facing over fentanyl.
20-Kilogram Shipment Sent Under False Label
Despite the discussions with the undercover officer, the shipment went ahead.
On November 23, 2024, Raxuter Chemicals and Lathiya shipped approximately 20 kilograms of 1-Boc-4-piperidone to the Eastern District of New York.
The chemical was again mislabelled as an antacid.
The investigation ultimately established that Lathiya was not simply moving ordinary chemical products. Prosecutors said he knowingly supplied chemical building blocks that could enter the fentanyl manufacturing chain.
Prosecutors Say Lathiya Was Close to the Fentanyl Supply Chain
US Attorney Joseph Nocella said Lathiya’s actions took place during a national fentanyl crisis in which hundreds of Americans were dying every day from overdoses.
Nocella said Lathiya knowingly smuggled and distributed chemical ingredients that served as building blocks for fentanyl, without regard for the potential harm caused by the activity.
He said the sentence was intended to send a message that authorities would hold people who traffic fentanyl precursor chemicals responsible for their role in the drug supply chain.
Homeland Security Investigations Acting Special Agent in Charge Pete Gizas also described Lathiya’s conduct as placing him at the source of the fentanyl supply chain.
Gizas said Lathiya knowingly moved chemical building blocks for a lethal drug into the US using deception, false labelling and international shipments. He described the prosecution as a new step against an India-based supplier.
He also said the investigation demonstrated the authorities’ intention to disrupt the fentanyl supply chain before the drug is manufactured, packaged and sold to the public.
With the 54-month prison sentence, forfeiture order and deportation after his prison term, the case has resulted in significant penalties for the Surat businessman over his role in supplying fentanyl precursor chemicals.
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