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Indian supplier pleads guilty in U.S. fentanyl case
Prosecutors said the supplier used false customs forms and package labels to conceal chemical shipments.
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Malvika Choudhary - Sat, 04, Apr 2026
- 14:50 EDT
- 49
Bhavesh Lathiya / LinkedIn/Bhavesh Lathiya
An executive of an Indian chemical company pleaded guilty in the United States to distributing and smuggling fentanyl precursor chemicals, in what prosecutors said is the first felony conviction of an India-based supplier in such a case.
Bhavesh Lathiya, founder and leader of Surat-based Raxuter Chemicals, entered the plea on April 3 in federal court in Brooklyn.
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Prosecutors said he illegally sold and shipped more than 50 pounds of chemicals commonly used to manufacture fentanyl and admitted supplying them to buyers in the United States and Mexico despite knowing they would be used to produce the synthetic opioid.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Lathiya and his company used international mail and package carriers to ship precursor chemicals while allegedly concealing the contents through false labeling and customs declarations.
Prosecutors said the chemicals distributed by the company included materials necessary to manufacture fentanyl through common production methods.
In one example cited by prosecutors, a package sent by Raxuter Chemicals was delivered on June 29, 2024, to an address in the Eastern District of New York with a false manifest listing the contents as Vitamin C. Authorities said the shipment actually contained 1-boc-4-piperidone, a List I chemical used in fentanyl synthesis.
Prosecutors also said Lathiya discussed the sale of fentanyl precursor chemicals during video calls in October 2024 with an undercover Homeland Security Investigations officer.
After being told that “clients in Mexico were very happy with the quality” and the “yield they got of the final product,” Lathiya agreed to sell 20 kilograms of 1-boc-4-piperidone and suggested mislabeling the shipment as an antacid, according to court filings.
Authorities said the package was shipped in November 2024 and sent to the Eastern District of New York under that false description.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said Lathiya had “admitted supplying the essential ingredients to make fentanyl, knowing just what they would be used for.”
“Our Office is committed to targeting every link in the fentanyl supply chain,” Nocella said. “We will continue to vigorously prosecute these purveyors of poison, both here and abroad, who are responsible for fueling our nation’s opioid epidemic without any regard for the extreme harm they are causing.”
Homeland Security Investigations New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso said the case reflects efforts to dismantle international fentanyl supply networks.
“Today’s landmark plea demonstrates HSI’s unwavering commitment to identifying, disrupting, and dismantling the fentanyl supply chain at every level, both at home and abroad,” Alfonso said.
Federal prosecutors said Mexican drug trafficking organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel, have increasingly relied on precursor chemicals sourced from suppliers in countries including India and China.
They said the case follows earlier federal indictments against Chinese chemical companies and employees accused of similar fentanyl-related offenses.
The case is being prosecuted by the Eastern District of New York’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
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