Five Chinese Nationals Charged in Louisiana With Conspiring to Distribute More Than 100 Kilograms of Marijuana
On June 4, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, in New Orleans, a city in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, had unsealed two indictments charging five Chinese nationals and one U.S. citizen with conspiring to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. A federal grand jury had returned the two indictments on May 22, 2025.
The six defendants are Hanjie Wu, 25; Yilei Zhou, 35; Zihang Zeng, 24; Like Chen, 34, a naturalized U.S. citizen; Wei Bin Chen, 34, a lawful permanent resident; and Aaron Steele, 45, of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Justice Department said three of the five Chinese nationals were in the United States unlawfully.
All six are charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute a mixture containing a detectable amount of marijuana, in a quantity of 100 kilograms or more. The department said that, if convicted, each faces a minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in federal prison, a fine of up to $5 million, at least four years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Hanjie Wu and Aaron Steele are also charged with interstate travel in aid of racketeering activity between Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, which carries up to five years in prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced the charges. The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case with the sheriff's offices of St. Tammany and Livingston parishes and Forrest County and the Picayune Police Department, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys André Jones and Nolan D. Paige are prosecuting it. The case is part of the Justice Department's Operation Take Back America. An indictment is only an allegation, and all six defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
(Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于新奥尔良市的 Hale Boggs 联邦大楼，路易斯安那东区联邦法院所在地。ajay_suresh 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Hale Boggs Federal Building in New Orleans, home of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Photo by ajay_suresh, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
