[1/2] An undated handout picture released by Guardia di Finanza shows banknotes that were seized as a part of an operation against fentanyl trafficking from China to U.S., in Piacenza, Italy. Guardia di Finanza Press Office/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Italian police have arrested six people in a crackdown on a network that allegedly played go-between for fentanyl trafficking from China to the United States, Guardia di Finanza police and prosecutors in the northern city of Piacenza said on Wednesday. Washington is hoping to secure more cooperation from Beijing in combating production of the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl, a scourge in the United States, when President Joe Biden meets Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday. Among those arrested in Italy is the alleged head of the network, a 51-year-old Italian man suspected of buying fentanyl from China over the past three years. He sold it on to buyers in the United States, and in one case in Mexico, the chief prosecutor said.

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Persons: Grazia Pradella, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Emilio Parodi, Keith Weir Organizations: Guardia, Finanza, REUTERS Acquire, U.S . Drug Enforcement Administration, Reuters, U.S, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Police, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Piacenza, Italy, United States, Guardia, Washington, Beijing, Mexico, Rome, Ukrainian, Switzerland, Eastern Europe, bitcoin