The Chinese graduate accused of being Mexico's 'fentanyl king'

Image source, Government of Mexico Image caption, Zhang Zhidong is awaiting trial in the US, accused of drug trafficking and money laundering By By Shawn Yuan BBC Global China Unit , Reporting from Culiacán, Mexico Published 24 minutes ago "Brother Wang was very important. He was number one," says Enrique, chuckling knowingly. Enrique – not his real name – describes himself as a high-level co-ordinator in Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, one of the world's most powerful criminal organisations. On the outskirts of Sinaloa's state capital city, Culiacán, sitting in a parked car where no-one can overhear him, he explains how ingredients to make the deadly drug fentanyl are shipped thousands of miles from Chinese factories to laboratories in Mexico. Members of his cartel credit Brother Wang with establishing this supply chain. Known in the criminal world as the "king of fentanyl", Brother Wang is a 39-year-old Chinese national, whose real name is Zhang Zhidong, according to the US Department of Justice. Arrested in Mexico in 2024, Zhang later made a dramatic escape before he was recaptured and extradited to the US in 2025. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin. It kills tens of thousands of people each year, mostly in the US, where the finished drug often ends up. A dose as small as a few grains of salt can be lethal. US President Donald Trump has labelled fentanyl dealers "narco-terrorists", classified the drug and its components as weapons of mass destruction, and used the fentanyl trade as a reason for imposing tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada. Image source, US Customs and Border Protection via Reuters Image caption, US Customs and Border Protection staff display fentanyl and methamphetamine seized from a truck crossing from Mexico into Arizona When Zhang appeared in court in New York in 2025, the Deputy Attorney General at the time, Todd Blanche, described him as one of "the world's most dangerous traffickers". He also accused him of "running a global enterprise that pumped massive quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine" into the US and laundering "millions in narcotics proceeds". Zhang has pleaded not guilty and is now awaiting trial. We contacted his lawyer, who declined to comment while the case was ongoing. Cartel members and former colleagues agreed to speak to the BBC to give a rare glimpse into how they believe Zhang - a graduate of China's most prestigious university - allegedly became a key link in the chain between Chinese chemical manufacturers and Mexcian drugs laboratories. Zhang the man Zhang graduated from the prestigious Peking University in Beijing with a Spanish degree in 2010, and a year later travelled to Mexico to work for a Chinese-owned company that mined iron ore. He soon secured a senior role. Those that knew him at the time saw him as a bright young professional, with an appetite for life abroad. "He was capable of negotiating with people, very resourceful, and able to adapt to a