Braintree Man Charged In $25 Million Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering Conspiracy

BRAINTREE, MA — A Braintree man is among four from Massachusetts charged in what the Department of Justice is calling a "sophisticated international money laundering and drug trafficking organization" responsible for distributing cocaine and ecstasy across the state.

Licheng Huang, 39, of Braintree, was arrested on Thursday along with four others from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as three people from New York.

"We allege that this group of individuals conspired to sell deadly narcotics in Massachusetts communities then laundered millions of dollars worth of their drug proceeds through a global network to conceal their illegal activity," said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins.

"Money is the lifeblood to drug trafficking activity and those who launder directly contribute to the ongoing drug crisis," Rollins added.

According to charging documents and law enforcement officials, a months-long investigation revealed that, under the leadership of Jin Hua Zhang, this "criminal organization" conspired to distribute multiple kilograms of cocaine in Massachusetts, but also operating across the country and internationally.

Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, also said that the organization is accused of "laundering at least $25 million in illicit proceeds from their illegal businesses all over the world."

According to charging documents, Zhang is believed to have directed his co-defendants and others to deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, and millions of dollars in wire transfers and bank deposits, to undercover agents in exchange for cryptocurrency. The funds were proceeds of drug trafficking and various fraud schemes that were based in the United States and abroad, the documents said.

"Zhang allegedly believed cryptocurrency would enable his organization to transfer illicit funds without detection by banks’ security teams or law enforcement," officials said.

According to court documents, to date, funds have been traced from Zhang’s organization to Hong Kong and elsewhere in China, India, Cambodia and Brazil, among other locations.

The investigation also revealed that Zhang and members of his organization allegedly conspired to distribute kilogram-sized quantities of cocaine and MDMA to undercover agents and cooperating witnesses.

One example comes from May 25, 2022, when Zhang directed a co-defendant to deliver more than one kilogram of cocaine to an undercover agent in New Jersey, documents said. On Aug. 12, 2022, Zhang and co-defendant Yanbing Chen allegedly worked together to deliver more than three kilograms of cocaine to an undercover agent in Boston, documents said.