Methamphetamine Traffickers Sentenced to Federal Prison

Saipan, MP – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands imposed the following sentences against defendants for Conspiracy to Possess Methamphetamine with the intent to Distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1), and Conspiracy to Maintain a Drug-Involved Premises, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 856.

HUAISHU WANG (age 40) – convicted of Conspiracy to Possess Methamphetamine with the intent to Distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1), and sentenced to 188 months imprisonment, three years supervised release, 100 hours community service, and a $100 mandatory assessment.

HONGJIE LI (age 48) – convicted of Conspiracy to Possess Methamphetamine with the intent to Distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1), and sentenced to 57 months imprisonment, three years supervised release, 50 hours community service, and a $100 mandatory assessment.

YONGBING NI – (age 54), convicted of Conspiracy to Maintain a Drug-Involved Premises, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 856, and sentenced to 10 months imprisonment, three years supervised release, and a $100 mandatory assessment.

These defendants were also ordered to report to a U.S. Immigration Officer for deportation proceedings as a condition of supervised release.

On May 3, 2022, HONGJIE LI claimed a package mailed from Canada to a private mail facility in Saipan.  The package contained 858 grams of methamphetamine.  LI transported the package to a residence, where she lived with HUAISHI WANG and YONGBING NI.  After the package was delivered to the residence, federal and local law enforcement agents executed a search warrant and discovered the three co-defendants were working together to distribute methamphetamine across the island. 

Inside the residence, agents discovered 214 grams of methamphetamine packaged in 46 baggies, an additional 15 grams of methamphetamine, digital scales, three BB-guns similar in appearance to semiautomatic 9mm and .45 caliber handguns, an Airsoft rifle similar in appearance to a 5.56mm rifle, and $68,408 in United States currency.  The street value of the drugs was at least $540,000.

U.S. Attorney Anderson stated, “Our office is committed to aggressively prosecuting drug offenses in the CNMI.  Substantial penalties apply to many of these crimes.  Considering the effects of methamphetamine on our communities, we must make every effort toward deterrence and accountability.”

“Synthetic drugs, such as methamphetamine, are easy to manufacture, highly addictive, and responsible for the growing number of deaths in our communities,” said DEA Honolulu District Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge Victor Vazquez. “Individuals who seek to profit on these dangerous drugs and distribute them will be targeted and held accountable.”

This investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Field Division, Guam Resident Office, Saipan Post of Duty.  The case was prosecuted by Albert Flores, Jr., and Garth Backe, Assistant United States Attorneys in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands