Highlights:
- US Embassy in India revokes and denies visas of Indian executives over fentanyl precursor trafficking.
- Close family members of those involved may also be barred from entering the United States.
- Embassy pledges continued crackdown under Immigration and Nationality Act provisions.
- DOJ earlier charged Raxuter Chemicals, Athos Chemicals, and Vasudha Pharma Chem Ltd executives.
- President Trump recently named India among 23 major drug transit or illicit drug-producing countries.
The US Embassy in India has revoked and denied visas for several Indian business executives and corporate leaders over their alleged links to fentanyl precursor trafficking.
Fentanyl precursors are chemicals used to manufacture the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, which has been a major driver of overdose deaths in the United States.
In a statement issued Thursday (18), the embassy said that “these individuals and their immediate family members may be ineligible to travel” to the US. It added that executives tied to companies previously involved in fentanyl precursor trafficking would face increased scrutiny if they applied for visas in the future.
Although the embassy did not disclose the names of those affected, it confirmed they were Indian nationals.
“The US Embassy in New Delhi is committed to combating illegal drug trafficking,” said Chargé d’Affaires Jorgan Andrews. He warned that those involved — along with their families — could face “consequences, including being barred from entering the United States.”
Officials emphasized that the move aligns with the Trump administration’s efforts to protect Americans from dangerous synthetic narcotics and is legally supported under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Stopping the flow of fentanyl and its precursors remains a top priority for the United States, the embassy added, expressing appreciation for India’s “close cooperation to address this shared challenge.”
Earlier this year, the US Department of Justice charged two India-based companies — Raxuter Chemicals and Athos Chemicals — and a senior Raxuter executive, Bhavesh Lathiya, with conspiring to manufacture and distribute fentanyl precursors. Lathiya was arrested on January 4.
In March, federal prosecutors in Washington charged Vasudha Pharma Chem Ltd and three of its senior employees with illegally producing and distributing fentanyl precursors, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
Just this week, in a statement to Congress, President Donald Trump named India among 23 “major drug transit or illicit drug-producing countries,” clarifying that the designation does not necessarily reflect the country’s efforts to combat narcotics.
