https://www.wyff4.com/article/south-carolina-money-laundering-ring-drug-cartels/64581924

Three members of an international money laundering organization have been charged with laundering millions of dollars in drug proceeds in South Carolina, according to the United States Department of Justice.

A federal grand jury in Florence, South Carolina, returned an indictment on Tuesday charging 28-year-old Nasir Ullah, 32-year-old Naim Ullah both of Sumter, South Carolina, and 49-year-old Puquan Huang of Buford, Georgia, with conspiring to launder millions of dollars of proceeds derived from drug trafficking.

The DEA was assisted by federal, state and local agencies in an investigation focused on international and domestic money laundering for the Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel.

According to court documents, unsealed on Thursday, Ullah, Ullah, and Huang allegedly worked for a money laundering organization that laundered at least $30 million in proceeds related to the distribution of illegal drugs, including cocaine and fentanyl, which were unlawfully imported into the United States, typically through Mexico.

Ullah, Ullah, Huang, and their co-conspirators allegedly traveled throughout the United States to collect drug proceeds. They communicated with co-conspirators in China to arrange for the laundering of these proceeds through transactions designed to conceal the illegal source of the proceeds, including disguising the source of the drug proceeds by moving money through the shipment of electronic goods to China and the Middle East.

“As alleged in the indictment, the defendants laundered tens of millions of dollars in drug proceeds from the United States through China and the Middle East, enabling a continuous flow of fentanyl and other dangerous drugs into our country from Mexico,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

"This $30 million money laundering operation, which has international ties, was conducted in multiple communities in our state. We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to trace these illicit funds, disrupt these networks, and hold those involved accountable for the harm they present," said Acting U.S. Attorney Brook B. Andrews for the District of South Carolina.

Ullah, Ullah, and Huang are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The Third and Fifth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Offices of South Carolina provided assistance in this case.