By Daniel Trotta

(Reuters) - Reuters won the Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting on Monday for a series of stories that penetrated the international trade in the chemicals used to make fentanyl, the drug at the heart of a crisis that has killed some 450,000 Americans and counting.

Other winners of the most prestigious awards in American journalism included the New York Times, which won four Pulitzers, and the New Yorker magazine, which won three, largely in recognition of their coverage of overseas wars. The Times also won for its own coverage of the fentanyl crisis in collaboration with the Baltimore Banner.

Reuters reporters, as part of their seven-part series, "Fentanyl Express," purchased all the ingredients needed to produce fentanyl, revealing how the Chinese chemicals fueling America's synthetic opioid crisis are astonishingly cheap and easy to obtain – and why U.S. authorities are failing to stop the deadly trade.

For just $3,600, the team bought enough precursor chemicals and equipment to make at least $3 million worth of the drug. The Reuters reporters did not make fentanyl, had no intention to do so, and arranged for safe destruction of the chemicals and other materials they purchased.

The series revealed for the first time how the chemical supply chain works and exposed how and why the U.S. government has been unable to stem the flow despite major diplomatic and law-enforcement pushes by the Biden and first Trump administrations.

The Reuters team was composed of Maurice Tamman, Laura Gottesdiener, Stephen Eisenhammer, Drazen Jorgic, Daisy Chung, Kristina Cooke, Michael Martina, Antoni Slodkowski and Shannon Stapleton. 

Working from the U.S., Mexico, China and beyond, the team exposed how Chinese suppliers exploited a loophole in U.S. trade regulations known as the "de minimis" rule to sneak cheap chemicals past customs inspectors. That rule allowed for tariff-free shipments of parcels worth less than $800, leading to an explosion of imported packages from China in particular. The exemption was ended by the Trump administration last week for shipments from Chinese and Hong Kong sellers.

Other stories showed how Mexican chemical brokers facilitate the trade for that country's powerful drug cartels; how China is fending off U.S. efforts to crack down on the chemical trade; and how a fentanyl-overdose antidote called naloxone is saving thousands of American lives - but isn't ending the U.S. addiction epidemic.

"The 'Fentanyl Express' series is a testament to the power of investigative journalism to drive change and hold those in power accountable," said Alessandra Galloni, Reuters editor-in-chief. "I'm incredibly proud of the team for their dedication to telling this important story in unique, rich and personal detail." 

This year's award was the sixth Pulitzer that Reuters has won for reporting, all since 2014, in addition to seven for photography, all since 2008. The prizes were established by newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer in 1917.

The New York Times increased its total to 139 prizes - a record high. This year it won for breaking news photography for Doug Mills' images of the July assassination attempt on Donald Trump, capturing a bullet flying through the air. In explanatory journalism, it was honored for its examination of the U.S. war in Afghanistan; and in international reporting for Declan Walsh's coverage of the conflict in Sudan.

In collaboration with the nonprofit Baltimore Banner, it also won the local reporting prize for an investigation into fentanyl's impact on Baltimore, especially among older Black men.

The New Yorker won for commentary, feature photography and audio reporting.

The Trump assassination attempt was also the subject of the Pulitzer for breaking news reporting awarded to the Washington Post, one of two Pulitzers won by the newspaper.

The coveted public service award went to ProPublica for its reporting about pregnant women who died after doctors delayed their care for fear of violating strict abortion laws.

The winner for national reporting was the Wall Street Journal for its examination of the "political and personal shifts" of Elon Musk, the world's richest man and the architect of the Trump administration's initiative to slash the size of the federal workforce.

Reuters won a Pulitzer last year for reporting on Musk that revealed worker injuries and one death at his rocket company SpaceX and animal mistreatment at his brain-implant company Neuralink.

African American themes also held a prominent place in the awards, including a special citation awarded to the late Chuck Stone for coverage of the civil rights movement.

In the arts and letters, Percival Everett won in the fiction category for "James," a reconsideration of "Huckleberry Finn" that gives a voice to the Black character Jim. Edda L. Fields-Black won the history category for an account of Harriet Tubman. And the drama award went to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins for "Purpose," a play about an upper middle class Black family.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)