Feds say Braintree, Canton residents part of global drug and money-laundering gang
BOSTON – Eleven people, including two from Braintree and Canton, have been charged in connection with a sophisticated international money laundering and drug trafficking organization involving cocaine and the drug ecstasy, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI said.
Authorities identified the South Shore suspects as Licheng Huang, 39, of Braintree, and Feng Chen, 38, of Canton. The other suspects are from Winthrop, Saugus, Rhode Island and New York.
“We allege that this group of individuals conspired to sell deadly narcotics in Massachusetts communities, then laundered millions of dollars’ worth of their drug proceeds through a global network to conceal their illegal activity," said U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins.
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The arrests, by the Boston FBI office's Organized Crime Task Force, "disrupted a sophisticated transnational criminal organization that is accused of trafficking kilos of cocaine and laundering at least $25 million in illicit proceeds from their illegal businesses all over the world,” said Joseph Bonavolonta, special FBI agent in charge of the Boston office.
Quincy police, State Police and Altamonte Springs, Florida, police assisted the Organized Crime Task Force in its investigation.
After a monthslong undercover operation, investigators identified Jin Hua Zhang, 35, of Staten Island, New York, as the leader of a criminal organization whose members laundered millions of dollars, conspired to distribute cocaine in Massachusetts and operated throughout the United States, including the Boston area, as well as overseas.
Authorities said Zhang told his co-defendants and others to deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and millions of dollars in wire transfers and bank deposits to undercover agents in exchange for cryptocurrency. The money was from drug trafficking and fraud schemes in the United States and abroad, authorities said.
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Zhang allegedly believed cryptocurrency would enable his organization to transfer illicit money without detection by banks’ security teams or law enforcement.
According to court documents, money was traced from Zhang’s organization to China, India, Cambodia and Brazil, among other locations.
Federal authorities also said Zhang and members of his organization conspired to distribute kilogram-sized quantities of cocaine and ecstasy, also known as MDMA, to undercover agents and cooperating witnesses.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million.
The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000, or twice the amount involved, whichever is greater.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Feds: Braintree, Canton residents part of global drug organization
