An alleged Chinese drug lord, responsible for trafficking thousands of pounds of fentanyl, was arrested and extradited to the U.S. after a bold escape from house arrest in Mexico.
Zhi Dong Zhang, also known as “Brother Wang,” fled house arrest in Mexico, first escaping to Cuba and then Russia under a false identity. Zhang is accused of trafficking massive amounts of cocaine and fentanyl into the U.S. and supplying Mexican drug cartels with precursor chemicals for fentanyl production.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) designated Zhang a Consolidated Priority Organization Target, a status reserved for criminals with extensive, documented histories.
After fleeing Mexico on a private jet, Zhang angered Mexican authorities, who considered his escape a major embarrassment. In Cuba, he then boarded a flight to Russia under a false identity. Russian authorities returned him to Cuba, seemingly unaware of his true identity. Cuban officials are now holding Zhang pending extradition to the U.S., reportedly using the time to gather intelligence on his criminal network.
According to his extradition order, Zhang allegedly smuggled over 2,000 pounds of cocaine, 4,000 pounds of fentanyl, and 1,300 pounds of methamphetamines into the U.S.
The Trump administration has labeled Latin American drug cartels as terrorist organizations and has launched multiple operations targeting drug shipments in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
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