Dutch, UK fentanyl sellers hit with Treasury sanctions

By FATIMA HUSSEIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Dutch nationals, an Englishman and nine companies have been targeted for sanctions by the U.S. government for allegedly operating an illegal fentanyl ring that generated millions of dollars in virtual currency. Alex Adrianus Martinus Peijnenburg and Martinus Pterus Henri De Koning from the Netherlands and Matthew Simon Grimm from the United Kingdom are accused of using their firms to sell illegal substances to U.S. customers and receive payment through digital assets. Despite being arrested for drug sales in 2017, Treasury says between November 2018 and February 2021, Peijnenburg and Pterus generated millions of dollars in virtual currency from illicit drug proceeds through a synthetic drug sales website.