Washington, DC - Prosecutors have charged a major Chinese chemical company and a number of its employees with illegally importing fentanyl precursors into the US.

Hubei Aoks Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., a company based in Wuhan, was charged in a 13-count federal grand jury indictment that alleged it had sold chemicals and products known to be fentanyl precursors.

According to the indictment, Hubei Aoks imported the precursor chemicals, along with a powerful tranquilizer, by declaring them to be furniture parts, makeup, and other legitimate imports.

While the indictment targets Hubei Aoks, it specifically singles out several employees within the company. Namely, the company's director Xuening Gao and its cryptocurrency wallet operator Guangzhao Gao both face charges.

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In a statement released by the Department of Justice on Thursday, it was revealed that the two individuals have been charged for selling controlled substances and precursor chemicals to customers in the US.

"This indictment alleges a corporation, its director and sales manager reaped financial benefits by knowingly exporting materials that helped fuel the fentanyl crisis in our nation," US Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement on Thursday.

"Synthetic drugs such as fentanyl have wreaked devastation in our country, and it is therefore critical that we hold accountable those behind this crisis. Rest assured, we will have no patience for those who profit off this poison and treat our youth as collateral damage."

Described by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) as the "main source" of fentanyl trafficking to the US, China has repeatedly said that it has a "zero tolerance" attitude.

The Biden administration has been working with China to strengthen cooperation on the distribution of fentanyl. At a San Francisco summit last year, Xi Jinping joined with Biden to launch a US-China Counternarcotics Working Group mechanism.

In April, Secretary of State Blinken discussed the matter with President Xi, but it wasn't until August that Beijing launched a mass crackdown on the chemicals used to manufacture the deadly drug.

"[China] announced that they will begin scheduling three essential precursor chemicals used to manufacture illicit fentanyl, thereby subjecting these chemicals to additional regulation and control," the White House said in a statement at the time.