Methamphetamine Dealer Sentenced to 64 Months in Federal Prison

Saipan, CNMI – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that Yuzhu Zhang, age 50, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, was sentenced in the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands to 64 months imprisonment for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine), in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).  The Court also ordered three years of supervised release, forfeiture of $4,239 in currency, 100 hours of community service, and a $100 mandatory assessment fee.  The defendant was also ordered to report to a U.S. Immigration Officer for deportation proceedings as a condition of supervised release.

In March 2022, Customs officers for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) discovered more than two kilograms of methamphetamine inside a parcel at the United States Post Office in Saipan.  The package had been mailed from California.  After removing the drugs, officers performed a controlled delivery of the package to a private mail carrier.  Zhang claimed the item from the carrier and was arrested after placing it inside the trunk of his vehicle.  Officers also located 19 baggies of methamphetamine, weighing a total of 20.16 grams, and $4,239 in currency inside the vehicle.  The drugs had a street value of more than one million dollars.  Zhang previously entered the CNMI as a tourist but overstayed the visitation period allowed by federal law.

“Drug interdictions by CNMI and federal authorities continue to result in substantial seizures of methamphetamine from our mail system,” stated United States Attorney Anderson.  “Traffickers will face substantial penalties, including the forfeiture of any drug proceeds.  Foreign nationals will also risk removal from the United States and denial of reentry.”

This investigation was led by the CNMI Division of Customs and Quarantine, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Field Division, Guam Resident Office, Saipan Post of Duty.

This case was prosecuted by Albert S. Flores Jr. and Ashley L. Kost, Assistant United States Attorneys in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.