Lexington man indicted on charges of trafficking 20 kilograms of cocaine from New York
Prosecutors say Jianyang Huang, 39, arranged for a cooperating witness to pick up two suitcases of cocaine in Flushing, N.Y., and was arrested in a Burlington hotel parking lot with one of them in hand.
BOSTON — A federal grand jury in Boston has indicted a Lexington man on charges that he conspired to bring 20 kilograms of cocaine from New York to Massachusetts for sale, the U.S. attorney's office in Boston said Tuesday.
Jianyang Huang, 39, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine, prosecutors said. He was first charged by criminal complaint in March and will be arraigned on the indictment, though no date was given.
According to prosecutors, Huang offered to pay a cooperating witness to pick up a 20-kilogram cocaine shipment in New York and drive it to Massachusetts so he could sell it to his customers. Court filings say Huang gave the witness a password to a group chat with the New York suppliers on the encrypted messaging app Signal. Prosecutors also allege he had the witness photograph the serial number on a dollar bill, sent the photo to the suppliers and told the witness to show them the bill.
On March 25, prosecutors said, the witness drove to Flushing, N.Y., showed the dollar bill and was given two suitcases. Investigators then confirmed each suitcase held 10 plastic-wrapped bricks of cocaine, according to prosecutors.
The witness drove back to Massachusetts, and Huang directed the witness to a hotel in Burlington, prosecutors said. Court documents say the two met in the hotel parking lot and each began wheeling a suitcase toward Huang's room. Huang was arrested in the parking lot with a suitcase in hand, prosecutors said.
Each charge carries at least 10 years and up to life in prison.
The charges are allegations, and Huang is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
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