Crime05 September, 20263 min read
Bhavesh Lathiya Sentenced To 54 Months In US For Smuggling Fentanyl Precursors Labeled Vitamin C
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Bhavesh Lathiya sentenced to 54 months in US federal prison for fentanyl precursor smuggling. He is founder of Surat-based Raxuter Chemicals, used to label precursors as Vitamin C/antacids.
Sentenced for fentanyl precursors
Bhavesh Lathiya, founder and executive of Surat-based Raxuter Chemicals, received a 54-month US prison sentence after pleading guilty in April 2026 for smuggling and distributing over 50 pounds of fentanyl precursors into the United States, knowing they would be used to manufacture fentanyl. The case was handled by the International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section of the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, and Joseph Nocella Jr, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the sentence in Brooklyn. Prosecutors said Lathiya disguised precursor chemicals as "Vitamin C" and antacids, including a package sent to the Eastern District of New York declared as "Vitamin C" on June 29, 2024 that actually contained 1-boc-4-piperidone.
In addition to the 54-month term, Lathiya was ordered to pay a forfeiture of $24,560 and will be deported to India upon completion of his sentence, according to the sentencing announcement. The sentencing followed an undercover operation in which Lathiya held video calls with an HSI undercover officer in October 2024 and agreed to supply 20 kilograms of 1-boc-4-piperidone, proposing to label it as an antacid.
Officials cite deception
US Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr said, "During a national crisis when hundreds of Americans were dying every day of fentanyl overdoses, Lathiya smuggled and distributed chemical ingredients". Homeland Security Investigations Acting Special Agent in Charge Pete Gizas said Lathiya placed himself "at the source of the fentanyl supply chain, where he knowingly moved the chemical building blocks of a lethal drug". Court documents described how Lathiya supplied precursor materials to the US and Mexico via international mail carriers, using fraudulent parcel manifests and falsified declarations to bypass border checks.
In October 2024 video calls, an undercover officer told Lathiya that Mexican clients obtained high yields from the initial shipment, and Lathiya agreed to supply 20 kilograms of 1-boc-4-piperidone. Prosecutors said that on November 23, 2024, Lathiya shipped approximately 20 kilograms of 1-boc-4-piperidone to New York mislabeled as an antacid.
Broader crackdown and impact
The prosecution was presented as a new step targeting international synthetic drug suppliers, with the Times of India describing it as a first-of-its-kind case in which Lathiya is not an American and his company is in Surat. The case was sentenced by US District Judge Pamela K Chen in federal court in Brooklyn on September 2, and Lathiya was arrested in New York City in January 2025 before pleading guilty in April 2026. Prosecutors said Lathiya and his company illegally sold and shipped more than 50 pounds of chemicals used in fentanyl production to customers in the US and Mexico, with packages disguised as Vitamin C and antacid.
The Times of India reported that the chemicals included materials capable of supplying all the ingredients needed to manufacture fentanyl through commonly used production routes, and that the investigation brought Lathiya into direct contact with an undercover US Homeland Security Investigations officer. The case was also framed as part of a wider effort to target fentanyl precursor suppliers beyond China, with Mathrubhumi English noting earlier Department of Justice indictments against three Chinese chemical companies and describing this conviction as targeting an India-based supplier.