Fifteen Men Charged in Superseding Indictment Targeting a Transnational Methamphetamine and GBL Trafficking Organization
Controlled substances and drug paraphernalia seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
WASHINGTON - Fifteen defendants are charged in a twelve-count superseding indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court in connection with a sprawling, transnational drug trafficking organization that imported massive quantities of methamphetamine from California and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) from South Korea for distribution in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere along the East Coast, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
“This organization peddled a deadly combination of meth and GBL, putting lives at risk for profit. They used encrypted apps, shell companies, and the U.S. mail to hide their operation. It didn’t work,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Fifteen defendants now face federal charges. Since my appointment as U.S. Attorney, my office, alongside the Homeland Security Task Force, has seized more than 1,800 pounds of meth. To those flooding our communities with deadly drugs: we will find you, dismantle your operation, and put you behind bars.”
“The criminals involved in these operations—more than 15 apprehended so far— have pushed too far by distributing dangerous drugs and threatening the well-being of our people, our community, and our children,” said Special Agent in Charge Cindy Marx of the DEA Washington Division. “They operated a complex, multi-layered drug trafficking network stretching from Washington, D.C., and across the East Coast, with active plans to expand their drug trafficking network into other parts of our country. We are going after all of them. Together with our Homeland Security and Safe and Beautiful Task Force partners, we will succeed.”
“HSI is proud to stand with our partners from across government to announce another milestone in this Homeland Security Task Force operation. We continue the work of disrupting the networks funneling deadly drugs into the United States and into our communities,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Kai Wah Chan of Homeland Security Investigations - Washington, D.C. “Protecting the Homeland is not the job of a single agency. Today’s results show that together, we’re making our country safer, one investigation at a time.”
“Today's indictment sends a resounding message that IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively uncover, dismantle, and disrupt drug trafficking network,” said Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation Washington D.C. Field Office. “IRS-CI brings unmatched financial investigative expertise to complex criminal cases. Regardless of the complexity of the investigation, whether it is money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act violations, complex financial fraud, or leveraging our tax authority, we will continue to take criminals off the street and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.”
Yesterday, law enforcement arrested four of the alleged traffickers and executed search warrants across two federal judicial districts: the District of Columbia and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The eleven other defendants previously charged in this case were arrested in late-April and early-May 2026, and eight of the eleven were ordered detained during the pendency of this case.
During yesterday’s takedowns, law enforcement recovered approximately 13 pounds of methamphetamine, about 1.5 pounds of GBL, additional narcotics including ecstasy pills, and more than $16,000 in cash.
In aggregate, over the course of the investigation, law enforcement has seized more than 87 kilograms of high-purity methamphetamine, more than 800 kilograms of GBL in the United States, along with more than 57 kilograms of ketamine and additional narcotics. Additionally, working with South Korean law enforcement, U.S. prosecutors and agents traveled to Seoul to identify GBL exporters and disrupt the supply chain at its source. That bilateral cooperation resulted in the arrest of five South Korean nationals by South Korean authorities and, in September 2025, the seizure of approximately 1.5 metric tons of GBL — the largest domestic seizure of a controlled substance ever recorded in South Korea.
The organization distributed methamphetamine and GBL together for simultaneous consumption in a poly-drug combination known as “sexchem.” The pairing is considered lethal and unpredictable. The investigation identified that local D.C.-based distributors were selling the drugs together as party drugs, compounding the risk to users. The newly-added defendants were bulk distributors of methamphetamine within the District of Columbia, with Martin-Wilson serving as a primary source of supply after the initial indictment and coordinated search and arrest operation was conducted earlier this year.
This investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; Homeland Security Investigations Washington Field Office; the DEA New York Division; the DEA Seoul Country Office; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division; and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Arlington County Police Department, Metropolitan Police Department, and Prince George’s County Police Department provided valuable assistance.
This operation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by President Trump’s Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.
Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Washington D.C. comprises agents and officers from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, IRS Criminal Investigations and others with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
