Qiran Li Sentenced to Prison in Ice Trafficking Case

          Today, SHAWN N. ANDERSON, Acting United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), announced that defendant QIRAN LI, age 31, from Susupe, Saipan, was sentenced in District Court to an 18-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by two years of supervised release, and 50 hours of community service, for Distribution of a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine). The Court also ordered LI to pay a mandatory $100 assessment fee. In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.

          On December 2, 2016, LI was charged by Indictment with Distribution of a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine), in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). He entered a guilty plea to the charge on January 27, 2017. During the course of the underlying investigation, LI sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant on two separate occasions in March of 2016, and law enforcement was able to seize a total of 9.7 grams with a 98 percent purity level.

          The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with the assistance of Task Force Officers from CNMI Customs and the CNMI Department of Public Safety. The case was prosecuted by Garth Backe, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of the NMI.