Chen, <\/p>\n
One of three men behind the shipment of 4.9 lbs of methamphetamine or \u201cice\u201d in 2015 to the CNMI was slapped on Monday with a 63-month prison term\u2014five years and three months.<\/p>\n
Zhaopeng Chen was given credit for 379 days of time served. Upon completing his prison term, Chen shall be placed on supervised release of three years.<\/p>\n
Chen, a Chinese national, will be deported from the CNMI upon his release from prison.<\/p>\n
During his supervised release, Chen will be required to perform 50 hours of community service.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona also ordered Chen to pay $100 in special assessment fee.<\/p>\n
Manglona determined that the sentencing guideline range was 63 months to 78 months imprisonment.<\/p>\n
Assistant U.S. attorney Garth Backe, counsel for the U.S. government, and U.S. Probation Officer Margarita Wonenberg, both recommended a sentence of 63 months in prison, the low end of the sentencing guideline range.<\/p>\n
Banes recommended a sentence of 51 months imprisonment. <\/p>\n
Last Sept. 7, a federal jury rendered a unanimous guilty verdict against Chen. The jurors found him guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. That carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment.<\/p>\n
The indictment charged Chen, Shicheng Cai, and Xi Huang, all Chinese nationals, with conspiracy with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. <\/p>\n
Cai and Huang pleaded guilty. <\/p>\n
Last month, Cai was slapped with 51 months in prison. <\/p>\n
Last August, the court slapped Huang, who was tagged as the leader of the group, with 15 years and eight months of imprisonment.<\/p>\n
According to the indictment, Huang, Cai, and Chen conspired between Nov. 30 and Dec. 4, 2015, to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.<\/p>\n
Customs inspectors discovered the contraband hidden in one of nine paint buckets during a routine inspection at the seaport of a shipping container from China on Dec. 2, 2015.<\/p>\n
Local and federal enforcers replaced the \u201cice\u201d with sugar and conducted a surveillance operation that led to the arrest of Huang, Cai, and Chen on Dec. 4, 2015 near Stanford Hotel in San Vicente.<\/p>\n
The worth of the \u201cice\u201d was estimated at $850,000 at that time, making it the second largest illegal drugs haul in the CNMI history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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