Overview
- Zhang pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn federal court on November 19 and was detained pending further proceedings, with the next court date set for January.
- He was returned to U.S. custody on October 23 after being arrested in Mexico, escaping house arrest, and later being recaptured in Cuba.
- Charges in the Eastern District of New York include international cocaine distribution and importation conspiracies, drug possession and distribution conspiracies, and money laundering offenses.
- Related filings in the Northern District of Georgia describe deliveries to Atlanta, stash houses in Georgia and California, and a laundering network using 150 companies and 170 bank accounts to move about $20 million.
- DOJ officials say seizures tied to the organization include 46 kilograms of cocaine, 58 kilograms of methamphetamine, and nearly 7 kilograms of fentanyl, and the department has designated Zhang a Consolidated Priority Organization Target.