Long Beach Man Hid $160M In Drugs In Noodle Packets, Car Parts: DOJ

LOS ANGELES, CA — Four Southland men are facing federal charges for allegedly shipping as much as $160 million worth of cocaine and methamphetamine around the world in instant noodle packets, emergency kits and car parts, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.

The transnational drug trafficking organization exported the drugs to Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, officials announced Friday. Two suspects were arrested on Thursday and two more are being sought by federal investigators.

Federal investigators arrested Hoang Xuan Le, 42, of Tustin, and Tri Cao Buinguyen, 38, of Garden Grove, Thursday, and they were scheduled for arraignment Friday in Los Angeles federal court.

Trung Buinguyen, 40, of Lakewood, and Narongsak Champy, 28, of Long Beach, along with Le and Tri Buinguyen, have been charged with one count of conspiracy to export controlled substances and one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Le and Tri Buinguyen are charged with one additional count of distribution of methamphetamine, according to the DOJ.

Authorities allege a sophisticated scheme to ship large quantities of drugs undetected.

The suspects spent 2017 to 2021 setting up the international operation with organized crime figures around the world, according to prosecutors.

As part of this case, law enforcement seized a total of 1,664 pounds of methamphetamine and more than 220 pounds of cocaine, prosecutors allege. Law enforcement estimates the value of the drugs seized exceeds $65 million and ranges up to $160 million.

"They then arranged for the export of bulk quantities of drugs from the United States to these nations via air cargo, ocean freight, and the U.S. mail, concealing the drugs in a variety of commercial products and falsifying their true nature on the manifests and customs documents," the justice department said in a written statement. "The defendants allegedly used phones equipped with military-grade encryption software and encrypted messaging applications, particularly “Signal,” to coordinate the export of drugs from the United States. They also allegedly used fictitious names, businesses, and email accounts to communicate with intermediaries, including vendors, freight forwarders, shipping companies, customs brokers, and customs officials in the United States and foreign countries, to fraudulently disguise the drugs as legitimate commercial products.".

If convicted of all charges, each defendant would face sentences of up to life in federal prison, according to prosecutors.