The U.S. Department of Justice revealed that Li Pei Tan and Chaojie Chen were convicted for their participation in a money laundering scheme operated by the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). This scheme involved sending goods from the United States to China to hide illicit profits related to the importation and distribution of illegal drugs in the country.
According to U.S. authorities, Tan and Chen collected the proceeds from fentanyl and cocaine trafficking by traveling across the United States and then coordinating with accomplices in China and other foreign countries to launder the money through financial transactions designed to conceal its illegal origin. This process included a sophisticated trade-based money laundering scheme by purchasing wholesale electronics in the United States and sending them to China.
Tan was sentenced to 78 months in prison and Chen to 90 months. Before his arrest, Chen was intercepted in possession of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from drug trafficking. Meanwhile, over $197,000 was seized from Tan in South Carolina while he was attempting to transport illegal profits.
The DOJ highlighted that the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels play a central role in the fentanyl crisis in the United States. This case is part of Operation Bring Back America, which seeks to completely dismantle the cartels and criminal organizations. The U.S. Prosecutor's Office had previously accused the Mexican cartels of having connections to China in money laundering schemes.
In a joint operation, Mexican authorities, including the Navy Secretariat, Army, and National Guard, managed to secure and neutralize a clandestine laboratory in Elota, Sinaloa, where synthetic drugs were being produced.