WUHAN, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in central China's Hubei Province have carried out a special campaign handling 22 cases of crimes involving precursor chemicals for fentanyl, according to the provincial anti-narcotics commission on Thursday.

This special operation started in December 2025. As of this February, seven individuals were arrested and 12 others subjected to criminal compulsory measures, while one person received administrative detention and four companies were handed administrative penalties, the commission said.

The operation, launched to follow a directive from the Ministry of Public Security, focused on clamping down on the entire supply chain, including production, distribution, storage and export of these chemicals.

In one notable action based on information provided by U.S. drug enforcement authorities, investigators in Hubei successfully cracked a case involving the sale of state-controlled new psychoactive substances and Category II precursor chemicals for drug manufacturing.

According to the public security department in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, police apprehended the actual controller of the firm that sold lorazepam, a state-controlled psychotropic drug, and other state-controlled psychoactive stimulants and Category II precursor chemicals.

During the operation, the Hubei anti-narcotics commission has strengthened investigations into illegal activities involving fentanyl precursor chemicals, and enhanced risk prevention measures related to the sources of such chemicals. It has also carried out internet inspections, shutting down more than 200 websites linked to the non-compliant enterprises. ■