2 get 57-month sentences for meth possession with intent to distribute

Two Saipan residents have each been sentenced to 57 months in prison—four years and nine months—in the U.S. District Court for the NMI for possession with the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine or “ice.”

Eugene Ka Lok Wong, 31, a U.S. citizen and resident of Saipan, and Dwight Lee Deleon Guerrero Aldan, 47, also a U.S. citizen and resident of Saipan, will also undergo five years of supervised release following imprisonment,

They were also ordered to render 100 hours of community service and made to pay a mandatory $100 special assessment fee each.  In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.

“We continue to partner with federal and CNMI law enforcement agencies to combat drug trafficking in our islands,” said Shawn N. Anderson, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. “Together, we will hold those who poison our communities accountable for their conduct.”

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and CNMI Customs.  The case was prosecuted by assistant U.S. Attorney Albert S. Flores Jr. 

CNMI Customs officers arrested Wong at a United States Post Office on Saipan last Dec. 18, 2020, after he retrieved a mail parcel containing methamphetamine.  Lab analysis determined that the package contained 111 grams of methamphetamine with a purity of 92%. Customs officers discovered the package during joint surveillance with the DEA and investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The investigation revealed that Wong intended to distribute the methamphetamine to various persons on Saipan.

On Dec. 22, 2020, again in cooperation with the DEA and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, CNMI Customs interdicted another parcel containing 56 grams of methamphetamine with a purity of 85%. Aldan retrieved the parcel from the post office and intended to distribute the drugs on Saipan with Wong. In total, the packages contained approximately 1,670 individual doses of methamphetamine, with a street-value of more than $83,500.

DEA Los Angeles Division special agent in charge Bill Bodner said that methamphetamine and other highly addictive synthetic drugs pose a significant threat to the island community. “Through the collaboration with our law enforcement partners we continue to disrupt the distribution of dangerous drugs and hold those responsible,” he added.

Inspector-in-charge Rafael Nuñez of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, San Francisco Division said: “Postal inspectors are dedicated to protecting postal customers and employees from all kinds of harmful material in the mail. We hope this sentence sends a message to drug traffickers not to use the mail to transport controlled substances to Saipan or anywhere else.”

Wong and Aldan were each sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands for violating 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).  (Saipan Tribune/PR)