Stamp out easy mail access to deadly fentanyl, Senate report urges

A new Senate report reveals how easy it is to purchase illegal, mail-order opioids from China, which federal authorities have identified as the major source of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids overwhelming the U.S. market. Investigators for the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations posed as online buyers and exchanged messages with six websites, according to the report. The investigators used payment information to track more than 500 U.S.-linked transactions from these sites, at least five of which they suspect are based in China. The report was critical of the U.S. Postal Service and Customs and Border Protection, saying the agencies have failed to prepare for an increase in international shipments, struggled to cooperate with each other, and been slow to introduce enhanced-screening methods. "The federal government can, and must, act to shore up our defenses," said Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), chairman of the Senate committee. Portman has sponsored legislation that would require overseas shippers that use the Postal Service to provide more detailed shipment information, transmitted electronically to Customs, before parcels arrive in the United States.