Local News in Brief : Shipper Convicted in Heroin Seizure
A Hong Kong man was convicted Tuesday on two narcotics counts in connection with the confiscation of heroin valued at $72 million. Authorities said the Southeast Asian heroin seized last June 16 at Los Angeles International Airport was the most ever intercepted in Southern California.
Chi Wai Wong, 45, was convicted by a Los Angeles federal jury of one count of attempted possession with intent to distribute 66 pounds of heroin and possession with intent to distribute 1,400 grams of heroin.
The seizure occurred when U.S. Customs agents discovered heroin during a random inspection of several cartons of can openers Wong was shipping by air freight. DEA agents substituted tracking beepers for the heroin and Wong was arrested after he picked up the boxes and discovered they were empty.
“I consider the defendant a grave danger to the community and to the country as a whole, based upon this amount of heroin,” U.S. District Judge A. Andrew Hauk told the jury after the verdict.
Wong faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and $4 million in fines. Hauk set sentencing for March 27.
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