27 Charged in International Crime Ring Probe

A major international crime ring that traded heroin, stolen cars and computer chips was broken Thursday with the arrest of 27 alleged group members in the Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, New York and Washington areas, according to Justice Department and FBI officials.

An 18-month federal probe, code named Bytes Dust, linked those arrested to armed robberies of high-tech firms across the country, heroin trafficking and the shipment of stolen cars from the United States to China.

“What we’re dealing with is a sophisticated, mobile organization that had the capacity to go interstate” to commit crimes, said Michael J. Yamaguchi, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California.

Among those arrested were four San Gabriel Valley residents. John Cheng Jung Chu, 30, of Rowland Heights, Wennie Kang Pang, 24, of Arcadia, and Hung Quay Ha, 29, of Rosemead were arrested at their houses at 6:30 a.m. Sinh A. Luc of La Puente was already in the custody of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on an unrelated charge.

FBI, sheriff’s and Justice Department agents found firearms and computer chips, believed to be stolen, at the various houses.

The alleged leaders of the network are three Sacramento area residents--John That Luong of Folsom, and Huy Chi Luong and Mady Chen, both of Elk Grove--and Bing Yi Chen of New York.

Twenty-four men and women were charged in the federal indictment, and three have been charged by federal complaint.

The indictments charge various violations of federal racketeering, conspiracy and narcotics laws.

The conspiracy and racketeering charges carry maximum prison sentences of 20 years, and fines up to $250,000. The narcotics charges carry mandatory minimum sentences of 10 and five years, and maximum sentences of life and 40 years, with fines of up to $4 million and $2 million.

Justice Department officials claim the group is responsible for at least four armed robberies of computer firms in Minnesota, Oregon, San Diego and Sunnyvale.

The robberies, according to authorities, included a March 15 holdup at Ace Micro Inc. in San Diego. Five men fled with $70,000 worth of memory chips.

On Aug. 18, 1995, three men with handguns tied up five workers at Aristocrat Inc. in Sunnyvale and took $61,000 worth of computer hardware, officials said.

The drug charges include distribution of 349 grams of heroin on Feb. 10, 1995; distribution of 700 grams of heroin on July 23, 1995, and distribution of 119 grams of heroin on Dec. 27, 1995.