Gujarat Chemical Firm Founder Gets 54 Months In Jail, Will Be Deported After
India-West News Desk
BROOKLYN, NY – Bhavesh Lathiya, founder of Surat-based Raxuter Chemicals, has been sentenced to 54 months in federal prison for smuggling and distributing chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, U.S. authorities said.
Lathiya, whose full name is Bhavesh Ranchhodbhai Lathiya, is a resident of Surat, Gujarat. He is also known as Bhavesh Patel, Bhavesh Bhai and Bhavesh Lathia.
Lathiya, 37, pleaded guilty in April 2026 to smuggling and distributing fentanyl precursor chemicals while knowing they would be used to manufacture fentanyl. He was sentenced September 2 by U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen in Brooklyn and ordered to forfeit $24,560. He will be deported after completing his prison sentence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Lathiya and Raxuter Chemicals supplied more than 50 pounds of precursor chemicals to the United States and Mexico, prosecutors said. The chemicals included materials needed to manufacture fentanyl through commonly used production methods.
The company used international mail and package carriers to ship the chemicals. Prosecutors said Lathiya used false labels and customs documents to try to keep the shipments from being detected.
In one case, a package shipped by Raxuter Chemicals and delivered to an address in the Eastern District of New York on or about June 29, 2024, was listed as containing Vitamin C. It actually contained 1-boc-4-piperidone, a List I chemical used in fentanyl production, according to court filings.
Lathiya also discussed the sale of fentanyl precursor chemicals with an undercover Homeland Security Investigations officer during video calls on Oct. 2 and Oct. 15, 2024, prosecutors said.
During the calls, the undercover officer told Lathiya that customers in Mexico were satisfied with an earlier shipment and the amount of finished product it produced. Lathiya agreed to sell 20 kilograms of 1-boc-4-piperidone and suggested labeling it as an antacid.
On or about Nov. 23, 2024, Raxuter Chemicals and Lathiya shipped about 20 kilograms of the chemical to the Eastern District of New York. The package was labeled as an antacid, according to prosecutors.
Mexican drug trafficking organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel, have increasingly used fentanyl precursors supplied by companies operating in countries including India and China, according to U.S. authorities.
