Staten Island Chinese man charged with money laundering, drug possession

Last month, a Chinese man in Staten Island was charged with money laundering and controlled drugs when he was arrested. After weeks of investigation, federal authorities sent an undercover police officer to contact the man posing as a drug dealer. On the agreed transaction date, the Chinese man admitted his crime, but did not plead guilty during the court hearing. He will appear in court again on July 8 (Tuesday).

Wen Hai Ye, a 44-year-old Chinese man, was accused of money laundering by law enforcement officers. Recently, the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sent an agent to contact him posing as a drug dealer. After months of investigation and collecting sufficient evidence, Ye, who lives on Kingsbridge Avenue in Bulls Head, Staten Island, was arrested on the 5th of last month.

According to court documents released recently, the undercover police secretly contacted the defendant. After several conversations, the two reached an agreement and met on the street near Great Kills Park. According to court documents, Ye Wenhai brought about 80,000 yuan in cash to the designated location that night and admitted that he was there to help handle the money. His purpose was to conceal the money that might come from illegal activities and avoid the government’s monitoring and reporting regulations on large amounts of money flow, which constituted money laundering conditions.

In addition, Ye Wenhai called himself a “money carrier” and confessed that he had drugs on him. The detective confiscated a bottle of ketamine powder (also known as ketamine) from his coat pocket. The authorities said they also found a plastic bag containing ketamine in Ye Wenhai’s car.

After his arrest, Ye Wenhai was charged with attempted money laundering and criminal possession of a controlled substance, but he pleaded not guilty to all charges during the court hearing and was released unconditionally. He will appear again in the St. George Criminal Court on Staten Island on July 8.