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In the previous fiscal year, FY2024, DHS removed or returned more than 742,000 individuals, more than any year since FY2010, including four large scale flights to China in the past six months.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Chinese National Indicted in El Paso, Texas, and Arrested in Las Vegas for Alleged Conspiracy to Sell Equipment Used to Manufacture Counterfeit Pills
A federal grand jury in the Western District of Texas charged a Chinese national with two counts related to alleged distribution of pill press equipment that can be used by criminals to manufacture illegal drugs laced with fentanyl.
Department of Homeland Security agents arrested the defendant, Xaiofei Chen, at a trade show in Las Vegas on Oct. 29. According to the criminal complaint supporting her arrest warrant, Chen sold pill press machines that can be used with molds, stamps or dies mimicking commonly prescribed controlled substances to produce counterfeit pills that appear indistinguishable from legitimate pharmaceutical drugs. Specifically, the criminal complaint alleges that Chen worked for a Chinese-based company that sold die molds and equipment, and that Chen sold pill press equipment and counterfeit die molds to buyers in the United States. The complaint further alleges that Chen avoided Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) disclosure requirements by dismantling equipment and shipping parts in separate packages into the United States. This equipment allegedly included counterfeit dies, including M30 dies meant to mimic a common prescription drug but which are regularly used to make fake opioid pills. The complaint alleges that the packages that Chen sent also were mislabeled to conceal the illegal equipment that they contained.
The Controlled Substances Act prohibits the sale of pill press equipment and counterfeit die molds to individuals who intend to use these machines unlawfully and requires reporting of certain equipment sales. Counterfeit pills made on such equipment can be laced with fentanyl and other dangerous drugs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl and related substances have devastated communities across the United States and fuel the ongoing drug overdose epidemic, which the CDC recently estimated killed approximately 107,000 Americans in 2023. Fentanyl overdose is the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49. In recent years, more than half of counterfeit pills tested have been found to have a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.
“The fentanyl epidemic has taken hundreds of thousands of American lives, and this case reflects the department’s unwavering commitment to prosecuting every level of the deadly fentanyl supply chain,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will continue to protect Americans by prosecuting those involved in the unlawful sale of parts and equipment that can be used to manufacture counterfeit pills.”
“The defendant allegedly sold equipment that can be used to make dangerous opioid pills harmful to American families,” said Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “HSI is proud to work with our law enforcement partners to prevent the distribution of equipment commonly used in the manufacture of these destructive drugs.”
A federal court in Nevada ordered Chen, a foreign national, detained pending her trial in El Paso where the indictment was returned on Nov. 20. The indictment charges Chen with one count of conspiracy to distribute and import a tableting machine used to manufacture a controlled substance and one count of conspiracy to distribute dies designed to imprint and reproduce the trademark, trade name and other identifying mark and imprint of another. If convicted, Chen faces a maximum penalty of four years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A federal district court judge would determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
HSI and Customs and Border Protection are investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Edward E. Emokpae, Scott B. Dahlquist and Kaitlin Sahni of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Franco Gregory and Donna S. Miller for the Western District of Texas are prosecuting the case. Attorneys Colin Trundle and Sarah Williams of the Consumer Protection Branch also provided valuable assistance.
An indictment or complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Updated December 20, 2024
California Political Operative Arrested on Complaint Alleging He Acted as Illegal Agent of People’s Republic of China
A criminal complaint filed Dec. 17 and unsealed this morning charges Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, for allegedly acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) while serving as the campaign manager for a political candidate who was elected in 2022 to the city council of a California city. Sun was arrested today is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in the Central District of California.
Sun is also charged with conspiring with another man, Chen Jun, who was sentenced to prison last month for bribery and acting as an illegal agent of the PRC government.
According to the complaint, Sun served as the campaign manager and close personal confidante for a Southern California politician (referred to in the complaint as Individual 1) who ran for local elected office in 2022. During the campaign, Sun communicated with Chen regarding his efforts to get Individual 1 elected. Chen allegedly discussed with Chinese government officials how the PRC could “influence” local politicians in the United States, particularly on the issue of Taiwan. In November 2022, shortly after Individual 1 was elected to office, Chen instructed Sun to prepare a report on the election that was sent to Chinese government officials, who responded positively and expressed thanks, according to the complaint.
About a month after Individual 1’s election, Chen arranged a lunch at a Rowland Heights restaurant with Sun and others, a gathering that Chen described to a PRC official as a “core member lunch,” the complaint alleges. Chen subsequently described the lunch as “successful” as participants agreed to establish a “US-China Friendship Promotional Association.” While Individual 1 did not attend the meeting, Chen identified Individual 1 as being part of “the basic team dedicated for us,” in a communication to a Chinese government official.
In early 2023, Chen instructed Sun to write another report for Chinese officials describing “[Sun] and [Chen] cultivating and assisting [Individual 1’s] success,” according to the complaint.
In February 2023, as the second report to PRC officials was being finalized, Sun forwarded to Chen a proposal to combat “anti-China forces” by participating in a U.S. Independence Day parade in Washington, D.C, according to the complaint. Sun proposed that the PRC government provide an $80,000 budget to support his and Chen’s efforts in the United States.
After Chen and Sun discussed a planned trip to China to meet with “leadership,” and after Chen directed Sun to schedule a meeting with the Chinese consul general in Los Angeles, Sun and Individual 1 traveled to China in August 2023.
If convicted, Sun faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. Sun also faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Ryan and Amanda Elbogen for the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Garrett Coyle of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Updated December 19, 2024
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DHS Conducts Removal Flight to the People’s Republic of China
WASHINGTON – On December 9, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), conducted the fourth large-frame charter removal flight in less than six months to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) of Chinese nationals with no lawful basis to remain in the United States. This removal flight is yet another example of the Department’s ongoing cooperation with the PRC and other international partners to deter irregular migration through the timely processing and removal of individuals who have not established a legal basis to remain in the United States. DHS and its counterparts in the PRC also continue joint work to counter the human smuggling networks that facilitate irregular migration. Our messaging has been clear: Do not believe the lies of smugglers. The United States continues to enforce immigration law, and those without a legal basis to remain will be swiftly removed.
DHS is enforcing U.S. immigration laws and delivering tough consequences for those who enter unlawfully or without authorization. This includes swiftly returning those without a legal basis to remain in the United States, while encouraging the use of safe, lawful, and orderly pathways; holding transnational criminal networks accountable for abusing our lawful trade and travel systems; and preventing the smuggling and exploitation of vulnerable people. Since the June 4 Presidential Proclamation on Securing the Border and accompanying Interim Final Rule, which was finalized on September 30 subsequent to an updated Proclamation, went into effect, there has been a continued, meaningful decrease in unlawful border crossings – including a more than 60% decrease in encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border.
DHS regularly engages counterparts throughout the hemisphere and around the world to accept removals of their nationals who have no legal basis to remain in the United States. From the implementation of the June 4 Proclamation through the end of November, DHS has operated more than 740 international repatriation flights to more than 160 countries—including the PRC, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Egypt, Mauritania, Senegal, Uzbekistan, and India. In the previous fiscal year, FY2024, DHS removed or returned more than 742,000 individuals, more than any year since FY2010. Efforts to expand removal flights continue.
