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Zhenli Ye Gon, in whose Mexico City mansion authorities found $207 million in money allegedly tied to drugs, was part of an international conspiracy that operated in the U.S., Mexico and El Salvador, according to a one-count indictment that was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington.
Ye Gon, owner of a pharmaceutical company, also is wanted by Mexican authorities on drug trafficking, organized crime and weapons charges. He was arrested in the Washington area on Monday.
Prosecutors said Ye Gon helped divert huge quantities of chemicals needed to manufacture methamphetamines to groups that actually made the drug and shipped it into the United States.
He could face more than 10 years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.
He also could have to forfeit some of the millions of dollars in cash, goods and property that prosecutors believe Ye Gon is holding in this country,
Martin McMahon, one of Ye Gon's Washington-based lawyers, has said his client has no connection to illegal drugs. McMahon did not immediately return a telephone call Thursday.
[Associated Press;
by Mark Sherman]
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