PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Deyao Chen, Guichun Chen, and Liangtu Pan a/k/a Liang Pan, all of the People’s Republic of China, have been charged by indictment with the following: conspiracy to import controlled substances (one count); conspiracy to distribute controlled substances (one count); and distribution of furanyl fentanyl, U-47700, and methoxyacetyl fentanyl - all powerful synthetic opioids (62 counts). In a news conference at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Attorney McSwain addressed the charges in the indictment and highlighted broader efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and law enforcement to stem the tide of the opioid crisis.
The indictment alleges that from in or about April 2016 through on or about March 22, 2017, Deyao Chen, Guichun Chen, and Liangtu Pan operated through websites located in the People’s Republic of China and offered controlled substances for sale, including furanyl fentanyl, U-47700, and methoxyacetyl fentanyl. The defendants often used the same alias, “Alex," when using these websites. Customers accessed these websites and selected the controlled substances they wanted to purchase, and the defendants directed the customers to different websites to pay for their orders.
Upon receipt of payment from the customers, the defendants emailed the customers’ orders to David Landis, charged elsewhere, who was a distributor residing in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and a former Montgomery County Deputy Sheriff. The defendants mailed controlled substances from China to Landis in quantities sufficient to meet the orders from their internet customers. Landis would then mail the controlled substances via the United States Postal Service to customers located throughout the United States and in numerous other countries. In less than a year, Landis mailed approximately 2,900 packages of controlled substances to customers on behalf of the defendants. Landis has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
Of the 62 distribution counts set forth in the indictment, one count alleges distribution of U-47700 to an individual which resulted in serious bodily injury. The remaining 61 distribution counts allege that the defendants distributed U-47700 and/or furanyl fentanyl to numerous individuals, including to five individuals in Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, and Tennessee who received these illegal substances and later overdosed and died with these controlled substances in their systems.
“Make no mistake: China is waging an undeclared war on our country and our American way of life, with deadly drugs serving as its weapon of choice," said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “China is supplying the United States with the most potent and deadly fentanyl and other synthetic opioids on the market today. Today’s indictment is an important step in choking the flow of these deadly drugs into the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. International suppliers beware: you cannot hide behind a computer or evade our detection by drug trafficking from a far-away place. Even if you are halfway around the world, you will be held to account for your crimes."
“This indictment sends a strong message to anyone connected anywhere in the world with production and trafficking of narcotics into the United States that Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners are going to hold you accountable," said Marlon V. Miller, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, Philadelphia. “Whether you’re selling fentanyl on a corner in Kensington or hiding behind a keyboard in China, Homeland Security Investigations will ensure that justice will be served."
“The indictments announced today are the result of years of exemplary policework and collaboration at all levels of law enforcement," said Major Douglas Burig, Director of the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation. “The State Police will continue to work closely with our local, state, and federal partners to investigate and dismantle dangerous drug trafficking organizations that attempt to do business in Pennsylvania."
“David Landis’ base of trafficking operations may have been Montgomery County, but his reach was global, spreading poison, misery and death far and wide. Because of traffickers like Landis, people are dying across the Commonwealth and across the country," said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. “I am proud to partner with United States Attorney McSwain and our other state and federal partners as we work to take down these dealers, shut down these drug pipelines and get this poison out of our communities."
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment.
This Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) designated case was supported by the Liberty Mid-Atlantic High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (LMAHIDTA) and investigated by Homeland Security and the Pennsylvania State Police, with assistance from the following law enforcement agencies: Drug Enforcement Administration; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; United States Postal Service-Office of Inspector General; United States Secret Service; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the Pennsylvania National Guard; Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Department, Ohio; La Vergne, Tennessee Police Department; Floyd County, Georgia Police Department; Hebron, Ohio Police Department; and the Tri-County, Illinois Drug Enforcement Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Clare Putnam Pozos and Faithe Moore Taylor, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Samantha Thompson.
An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
