SHERMAN, Texas – A jury has found two
Chinese nationals guilty of maritime drug smuggling, announced Eastern District
of Texas U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.
FeiShang Liang,
52, and KanHua Wu, 51, both of the People’s Republic of China, were found
guilty by a jury of maritime drug smuggling violations following a four-day
trial before U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant, III on Aug. 2, 2018.
According to information presented in court, on Nov. 24, 2016, while on routine
patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, a United States Coast Guard Cutter
detected a 120 foot long fishing vessel approximately 1,025 nautical miles west
of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. The Coast Guard launched its small
boat to approach the fishing vessel, at which time the crew aboard the fishing
vessel began throwing packages overboard. Afterwards, law enforcement
officers recovered 42 packages containing 983 kilograms of cocaine and the
seven crew members aboard the fishing vessel were arrested and charged with
maritime drug smuggling violations. Testimony at trial revealed that Liang was
the ship’s captain and Wu was the engineer. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter
monitoring the vessel caught both Liang and Wu on videotape as they threw over
one ton of cocaine outfitted with GPS trackers into the ocean as they were
being pursued by the Coast Guard.
“To really have an effect on the drug
supply in this country, we have to be willing to go after every person involved
in the chain of distribution,” said Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney
Joseph D. Brown. “Whether it’s the street dealer, or the person on the boat
transporting, or the leader of the cartel, we will charge them and convict
them.”
Under federal statutes, the defendants each face a
minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in federal prison on each count of
conviction at the time of sentencing. The sentencing range
prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the
sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing
guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be
scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S.
Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the
U.S. Coast Guard and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jay R. Combs and
Christopher Eason.
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Davilyn Walston
Public Information Officer/Law Enforcement Coordinator
U.S. Attorney's Office
Eastern District of Texas
