US Indicts Chinese National Accused of Selling Pill Press Used to Make Illicit Drugs

The DOJ said the equipment sold by the defendant was used to produce counterfeit pills that closely resemble pharmaceutical drugs.

The Department of Justice building in Washington on March 28, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

A Chinese national was indicted in El Paso, Texas, on Friday for allegedly selling pill press equipment used to make counterfeit pills that are laced with fentanyl, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The DOJ stated that Xaiofei Chen was charged by a federal grand jury in the Western District of Texas with one count of conspiracy to distribute a tableting machine used to make controlled substance and one count of conspiracy to distribute dies designed to reproduce trademarks. Chen was arrested at a Las Vegas trade show on Oct. 29.