ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Federal prosecutors have unsealed an indictment charging two Chinese nationals with conspiracy to commit money laundering on behalf of two of the world’s most powerful drug cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, the Justice Department announced.
Ruhuan Zhen and Hongce Wu were indicted April 24, 2025, by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia. Both remain at large.
According to court documents, the alleged conspiracy ran from at least November 2016 through April 2025, during which Zhen, Wu, and co-conspirators are accused of laundering substantial volumes of narcotics proceeds using an array of clandestine methods. Prosecutors allege the network employed mirror transfers, foreign bank accounts, encrypted communications applications, a serial-number verification system, and trade-based money laundering to move drug money on behalf of transnational criminal organizations.
The alleged scheme spanned the United States, Mexico, Latin America, China, and other countries, and involved proceeds from the importation and sale of cocaine and fentanyl.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
The case was investigated by the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit, with assistance from DEA offices across the United States and in Bogota and Dubai. It is being prosecuted as part of Operation Take Back America, a Justice Department initiative targeting cartels, transnational criminal organizations, and violent crime.
All charges are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
By: Big Sky Broadcasting Newswire