Transnational drug dealer gets sentenced to 25 years in federal prison

Ye Fang, also known as Batu, a Chinese national and convicted drug dealer, was sentenced to 25 years federal prison by Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands on Thursday.

United States Attorney for the districts of Guam and the NMI, Shawn N. Anderson, announced the news in a release from his office on Friday.

Fang was convicted of conspiracy to possess over 500 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

The court also ordered five years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment fee. He was also ordered to report to immigration officials for deportation proceedings upon release from prison.

“Law enforcement has brought Ye Fang’s Indo-Pacific crime spree to an end,” said Anderson. “He will now serve many years in a United States prison with other high-risk offenders. Every day of his sentence is day made safer for the people of the CNMI. We will continue to use our resources to combat transnational criminals and protect our communities from perpetrators of violent crime.”

According to the release, Ye Fang arrived in the CNMI from China in 2016 under a tourist visa waiver program. After his waiver term elapsed, he remained on Saipan where he ran a birth tourism business for three years. Ye Fang hosted at least 200 women and their families from China so that pregnant women could give birth on island. He later began trafficking methamphetamine.

In November 2022, CNMI police executed a search warrant at Ye Fang’s home. They seized more than one kilogram of methamphetamine. A CNMI arrest warrant was issued, but Ye Fang remained a fugitive, escaping from Saipan by boat and traveling to Guam in the summer of 2023. From Guam, Ye Fang continued to organize methamphetamine trafficking in the CNMI.

In September 2023, he arranged the shipment of methamphetamine hidden inside lava lamps, which were sent to Saipan from California. The packages were intercepted by CNMI Customs, who coordinated with the Drug Enforcement Administration to conduct a controlled delivery. That resulted in the arrest of co-conspirator Liang Yang, another out of status PRC national. A total of eight pounds of liquid methamphetamine was seized.

Ye Fang eventually fled Guam in November 2023 via commercial airline using the identification of another person. He then traveled to Palau, where he organized the murder of another PRC citizen. In January 2024, Ye Fang and three others were arrested in Palau for that crime. Ye Fang pled guilty to manslaughter in March 2024 and was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. In May 2024, he was extradited to the CNMI where he pled guilty to the lava lamp drug scheme.

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“Methamphetamine is potent and highly addictive. This synthetic stimulant that has contributed to the overdose crisis facing America. DEA, along with federal and international partners, are in lockstep in our commitment to combat drug networks,” said Anthony Chrysanthis, deputy special agent in charge of the DEA Los Angeles Field Division, which oversees Saipan. “We will vehemently pursue all criminals who flood our communities with this poison.”

This investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration with the support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Marshal Service for extradition, CNMI Customs, CNMI Department of Public Safety, Republic of Palau Bureau of Public Safety, and in collaboration with the CNMI Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, and the Republic of Palau.

“Today’s sentencing is the direct result of sustained commitment and collaboration between the FBI and our law enforcement partners,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter. “Mr. Fang led a violent, transnational narcotics trafficking organization; his crimes significantly contributed to the ongoing drug epidemic facing America and plaguing our island communities. The FBI—standing in resolve with our local, state, and federal partners—is prepared to confront and disrupt these dangerous criminal organizations, wherever they may operate.”

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to combat illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

“The conviction of Mr. Fang is a testament to HSI’s enduring commitment to keep harmful substances out of Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Island,” said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Lucy Cabral-DeArmas. “Understanding the damage that illegal narcotics do to our communities, we will stop at nothing to hold those accountable for their contributions to drug trafficking within our islands.”

“As the law enforcement and security arm of the U.S. Postal Service, the safety of postal employees and the public is our top priority,” said Inspector in Charge Stephen Sherwood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “Anyone who misuses the U.S. Postal Service will be held accountable for their actions. I would like to thank our federal and local law enforcement partners, including our task force partners from the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency, Guam Police Department, and Army National Guard Counterdrug Program.”

Assistant United States Attorney Albert S. Flores, Jr., and former Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Kost prosecuted this case in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.