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Seven Arrested in United States and Canada for Ecstasy and Ketamine Smuggling Conspiracy
LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for
the Southern District of New York, JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR., the
Assistant Director-in-Charge of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's New York Field Division, and RAYMOND W. KELLY,
the Police Commissioner of the City of New York, announced the
arrests early this morning of seven individuals for conspiracy to
smuggle ecstasy and ketamine from Canada into the United States.
Two defendants were arrested in New York, one in Boston, and four
were arrested in Canada on provisional arrest warrants based on
the charges filed here. Three other defendants charged in the
case remain at large.
According to the criminal Complaints unsealed today in
Manhattan federal court:
The defendants were part of a conspiracy to distribute
large quantities of ecstasy and ketamine from Canada into the
United States, including New York City. Different members of the
conspiracy had different roles: for example, couriers transported
the ecstasy and ketamine from distributors in Canada into the
United States, where the drugs were sold at various locations in
Manhattan; other members of the conspiracy returned to Canada with the proceeds of the drug sales, divided among several
individuals to avoid detection by law enforcement agents at the
border.
Four defendants -- KANG MING YU, a/k/a "Tony," CHUN
MING CHUCK, a/k/a "Ah Ming," a/k/a "Chun Ming Zhau," KWONG YIU
KWAN, a/k/a "Stanley Kwan," and SASHO SEVIL SEVOV -- were
arrested this morning in Canada on provisional arrest warrants
issued at the request of United States authorities. (All names
are written with the family name last). DUNG TRAN, a/k/a "Ah
Yuen," was arrested this morning in Boston Massachusetts. Two
other defendants -- DAVID HUYNH and QI XIA CHEN, a/k/a "Ah Kai,"
-- were arrested this morning in New York City. THE SEND HA,
a/k/a "Ah Sing," a/k/a "Shing Gor," HA DONG LU, a/k/a "Tommy,"
a/k/a "Ah Dong," and WAN LAN CHEN, a/k/a "Ah Tong," a/k/a "Tong
Chen," a/k/a "Hou Chen," remain at large. One additional
defendant, against whom charges are expected to be filed later
today, was also taken into custody in New York City.
HA, YU, CHUCK, KWAN, LU, TRAN, WAN LAN CHEN, HUYNH, and
SEVOV are each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute
ketamine and ecstasy, which carries a maximum potential penalty
of 20 years in prison. QI XIA CHEN is charged with one count of
conspiracy to distribute ecstasy, which carries a maximum
potential penalty of 20 years in prison. SANN is charged with
one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, which carries a
maximum potential penalty of 5 years in prison. HA, YU, CHUCK,
KWAN, and SEVOV each are also charged with one count of importing
ketamine into the United States, which carries a maximum
potential sentence of 5 years in prison.
CHUCK, 43, KWAN, 53, YU, 47, and HA, 37, reside in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. SEVOV, 31, resides in Mississauga,
Ontario, Canada. HUYNH, 24, resides in Randolph, Massachusetts.
QI XIA CHEN, 43, resides Manhattan, New York. TRAN, 40, resides
in Boston, Massachusetts. LU, 36, resides in Randolph,
Massachusetts. WAN LAN CHEN, 53, resides in Manhattan, New York.
SANN, 27, resides in Holliston, Massachusetts.
The investigation is being conducted in New York City
by the Asian Criminal Enterprises Task Force, composed of special
agents with the FBI and detectives with the New York City Police
Department, in cooperation with the Asian Organized Crime Task
Force in Toronto, Canada, comprised of officers with the Toronto
Police Service, Ontario Provincial Police, the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, York Regional Police Service, Peel Regional
Police Service, and the Canada Border Services Agency. Mr.
DASSIN praised the investigative work and cooperation of these
law enforcement agencies. Additionally, Mr. DASSIN expressed his
appreciation to the Federal Department of Justice of Canada for
its assistance.
Assistant United States Attorney STEVE C. LEE is in
charge of the prosecution.
The charges and allegations contained in the Complaints
are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent
unless and until proven guilty.
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