The Chinese graduate accused of being Mexico's 'fentanyl king'
Zhang Zhidong, a Chinese national known as 'Brother Wang,' has been extradited to the US to face charges for his role in the global fentanyl trade. He is accused of managing a supply chain that funneled drug ingredients from China to Mexican cartels.
Why it matters
The fentanyl crisis is a major geopolitical and public health issue, driving tensions between the US, China, and Mexico.
Image source, Government of Mexico Image caption, Zhang Zhidong is awaiting trial in the US, accused of drug trafficking and money laundering
"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.
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