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Two suspects in $4.3M ‘ice’ case plead not guilty
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Posted on Sep 01 2015
Yuliu Liu and Zhenlin Fang, the two overstaying Chinese tourists who were indicted in the seizure of over 10,700 grams of methamphetamine or “ice” worth about $3.2 million to $4.3 million, have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
During Friday’s arraignment, Liu and Fang, through their counsels, waived the formal advisement of their constitutional rights and the reading of the charges against them.
The two pleaded not guilty to the indictment that charged them with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Magistrate Judge Heather Kennedy set the jury trial for Oct. 27, 2015.
Liu, through his lawyer, also pleaded not guilty to a separate indictment that charged him with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.
Kennedy set Liu’s jury trial for Oct. 29, 2015.
Assistant U.S. attorney Ross Naughton, counsel for the U.S. government, moved to unseal the cases and stated that it was not the prosecution’s intent to seal the indictments.
The judge granted the motion.
Attorney Steven Pixley is court-appointed counsel for Fang. Attorney Mark Hanson is court-appointed counsel for Liu in both cases.
Attorney Benjamin Petersburg appeared as counsel for Liu on behalf of Hanson.
A Customs inspector detected the “ice” inside an air compressor in a container from Guangzhou, China, at the seaport warehouse on Saipan last July 17. That discovery led federal and local law enforcers to make a follow-up investigation that ended with the arrest last July 22 of Liu and Fang and the discovery of 130 more grams of “ice” from Liu’s house.
