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Crime & Courts

Four Charged in Alleged Prison Drug Trafficking Scheme

Four people face charges in the Eastern District of Texas in a case alleging drugs were smuggled into prisons on paper, according to Fox 4 News.

3 reports on this incident · first at Sep 9, 2026, 8:57 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterWritten Sep 9, 2026, 9:08 p.m. ET
Four people have been in the in a case alleging a China-based supplier and a domestic distributor worked together to bring deadly synthetic drugs into the United States for distribution across the country, Fox 4 News reported. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. The indictment alleges that drugs received from China were liquidized and saturated into sheets of paper before they were delivered to inmates at various prisons across the United States, according to Fox 4 News. The case was announced on September 9, 2026. The defendants named in the case are Lisa Xing, 36; Zhanwen Song, 38; Adell Willis, 43, of Lewisville; and Judy Ly, 30, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Fox 4 News reported. The charges are drug trafficking and money laundering violations. The proceeding stage is , and the statutory maximum is . The investigating agencies are the FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Task Force, and China’s Ministry of Public Security, according to Fox 4 News. What remains to be decided has not been determined.

Earlier reports

  1. Sep 9, 2026, 9:03 p.m. ET

    Four Charged in Alleged Drug Trafficking Scheme Involving Prison Mailings

    Four people have been charged in the Eastern District of Texas in an alleged drug trafficking and money laundering scheme, according to fox4news.com. The charges were announced on September 9, 2026. The case is at the charging stage and has not been resolved; the charges are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent.

    The indictment alleges that a China-based supplier and a domestic distributor worked together to bring deadly synthetic drugs into the United States for distribution across the country, fox4news.com reported. Prosecutors allege the drugs received from China were liquidized and saturated into sheets of paper before being delivered to inmates at various prisons across the United States.

    The defendants are Lisa Xing, 36; Zhanwen Song, 38; Adell Willis, 43, of Lewisville; and Judy Ly, 30, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, according to fox4news.com. The charges are drug trafficking and money laundering violations. The proceeding is at the charging stage; the charges are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent.

    The case is being investigated by the FBI, the DEA, the Homeland Security Task Force, and China's Ministry of Public Security, fox4news.com reported. The charges carry a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in federal prison, according to fox4news.com.

  2. Sep 9, 2026, 8:57 p.m. ETFirst report

    Four charged in alleged drug trafficking scheme tied to prison mailings

    Four people have been charged in the Eastern District of Texas with drug trafficking and money laundering violations, Fox 4 News reported on Sept. 9, 2026.

    The defendants are Lisa Xing, 36; Zhanwen Song, 38; Adell Willis, 43, of Lewisville; and Judy Ly, 30, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, according to Fox 4 News.

    The indictment alleges that a China-based supplier and a domestic distributor worked together to bring deadly synthetic drugs into the United States for distribution across the country, Fox 4 News reported. Prosecutors allege the drugs received from China were liquidized and saturated into sheets of paper before being delivered to inmates at prisons across the United States, according to the outlet.

    The case is at the charging stage. The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent. The charge carries a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in federal prison, Fox 4 News reported; that is the maximum the charge carries, not a sentence.

    The FBI, the DEA, a Homeland Security task force and China's Ministry of Public Security are involved in the investigation, according to Fox 4 News.

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Revision history

  1. Version 110 Sept 2026, 01:03current

    First published.

  2. Version 110 Sept 2026, 00:57current

    First published.

  3. Version 110 Sept 2026, 01:08current

    First published.

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