NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A group of four were charged with conspiracy, drug trafficking and other crimes following a long-term investigation into a ketamine trafficking ring based in Queens, District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Friday.
After a a 16-month-long investigation, dubbed "Operation Frostbite," which included a series of undercover drug buys and the use of electronic surveillance, authorities apprehended Xing Li, 40, Kaiyu Huang, 36, Quan Ni, 24, and Raymond Nam, 36, on Thursday.
They were arraigned on a 19-count indictment charging them with conspiracy, criminal sale of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of cannabis.
Li was indicted and arraigned on an additional charge of operating as a major trafficker.
According to the indictment, the crew, under the leadership of Xing Li, sold and stored ketamine, cannabis and MDMA – also known as ecstasy – at various locations throughout Queens and Manhattan.
The primary activity took place in the vicinity of Nam’s residence in Flushing and Huang’s residence in Manhattan, DA Katz said.
A total of five buys of ketamine and MDMA took place among undercover police officers and the defendants between June 2023 and April 2024, resulting in over $26,000 worth of seized drugs.
On July 17, 2024, and Oct. 23, 2024, search warrants were executed at two separate locations where officials seized more than 30 kilograms of ketamine, 600 grams of MDMA and over 100 pounds of cannabis.
They accused are scheduled to return to court on Feb. 7 and face a potential maximum prison term of three to 10 years in prison. If convicted of the top count, Li faces a potential maximum prison term of 15 years to life in prison.
"Those who choose to peddle poison in Queens are on notice: my office will meticulously dismantle drug rings and take drugs off the streets. The four defendants stand accused of possessing and selling a large quantity of dangerous narcotics as part of an illegal operation spanning two boroughs." DA Katz said.