Why a Gujarat man who imported ‘Vitamin C’ to the US has been jailed

A businessman from Gujarat has been sentenced to over four years in prison in the US for using his Surat-based company to smuggle chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, a synthetic opioid illegally used in recreational drugs. US District Judge Pamela K Chen sentenced Bhavesh Lathiya, 37, to 54 months in prison.

Lathiya, who founded and led Surat-based Raxuter Chemicals, pleaded guilty in April to smuggling and distributing precursor chemicals, knowing they would be used to manufacture fentanyl. He was also ordered to pay forfeiture of $24,560 and will be deported once his prison term ends.

According to court filings cited by US Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr.'s Office for the Eastern District of New York, Raxuter Chemicals sold and smuggled more than 50 pounds of chemicals commonly used in fentanyl manufacture, supplying buyers in the United States and Mexico.

During a national crisis when hundreds of Americans were dying every day of fentanyl overdoses, Lathiya smuggled and distributed chemical ingredients, including those that were the building blocks for this deadly drug, without any regard for the harm that his conduct would cause,” stated Attorney Nocella.