Chinese suspects arrested for funneling synthetic drugs into U.S. prisons via soaked paper
Chinese nationals Lisa Xing and Zhanwen Song were detained in China after U.S. prosecutors linked them to a scheme that sent synthetic opioids and cannabinoids into federal and state prisons on drug-infused paper.
A superseding federal indictment in the Eastern District of Texas charges Chinese nationals Lisa Xing and Zhanwen Song with drug trafficking and money laundering for supplying synthetic opioids, cannabinoids and other substances to U.S. prisons. Prosecutors allege that the pair shipped the drugs to Texas resident Adell Willis and Michigan resident Judy Ly, who dissolved the substances, soaked them into paper sheets and mailed the packets to inmates across federal and state facilities.
Willis and Ly were previously indicted on conspiracy and money-laundering charges. The Justice Department reports that China's Ministry of Public Security detained Xing, Song and 19 additional suspects, confiscated 475 kilograms of synthetic cannabinoids and shut down four illicit labs. FBI Director Kash Patel praised the joint FBI-Homeland Security Task Force effort, noting the disruption of a dangerous transnational drug network.
Why it matters
The case reveals a novel method of smuggling lethal synthetic drugs into U.S. prisons, posing new security and health challenges.
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