LOS ANGELES — A Chinese national living in the San Gabriel Valley was sentenced Friday to seven years and three months in federal prison for participating in a drug trafficking organization that attempted to export more than one metric ton of methamphetamine concealed inside commercial shipments bound for Australia.
Jing Tang Li, 34, of China, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Wesley L. Hsu after pleading guilty in December 2025 to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Fact Checklist
- Defendant: Jing Tang Li, 34, of China
- Sentence: 87 months (7 years, 3 months) in federal prison
- Charge: Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine
- Plea: Guilty in December 2025
- Court: U.S. District Court, Central District of California
- Judge: U.S. District Judge Wesley L. Hsu
- Timeframe of Scheme: February 2023 through December 2023
- Destination of Shipments: Australia
- Drugs Seized: More than 1,000 kilograms (2,204.6 pounds) of methamphetamine
- Concealment Methods: Rubber mats, furniture components, industrial machinery, and testing equipment
- Arrest: August 2024 outside a warehouse linked to the trafficking operation
- Investigating Agencies: Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Australian Federal Police
- Assisting Agency: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
According to court records, between February and December 2023, Li participated in a sophisticated international drug trafficking scheme that disguised methamphetamine inside shipments falsely labeled as commercial goods, including carpets, textiles, furniture, wheel hub testing equipment, and a casting machine.
Investigators said the shipments originated in Los Angeles and were destined for Australia. The listed shipping companies were fraudulent businesses created to conceal the operation.
In one shipment intercepted in February 2023, Li attempted to export cargo labeled as “other carpets & other textile floor coverings.” Authorities discovered about 1,886.1 pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside black rubber mats packed in 23 cardboard boxes.
Later that month, authorities intercepted another shipment labeled “furniture leg set,” which concealed about 71.6 pounds of methamphetamine inside white metal tubes.
Additional shipments seized during the investigation included:
- A June 2023 shipment labeled “casting machine” containing approximately 446.3 pounds of methamphetamine.
- Two August 2023 shipments labeled “tooling of wheel hub testing equipment,” each containing about 226.7 pounds of methamphetamine.
Authorities arrested Li in August 2024 outside a warehouse that investigators identified as a hub for the trafficking conspiracy. Inside his vehicle, agents found multiple bags containing about 2.1 pounds of methamphetamine.
In total, law enforcement seized more than 2,204.6 pounds of methamphetamine connected to the conspiracy.