DETROIT — A federal jury returned guilty verdicts Oct. 18 on all charges in the trial of Khaophone Sychantha, announced Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie M. Salazar. The conviction concluded a six-day trial held in Detroit before Chief U.S. District Judge Sean F. Cox.
Salazar was joined in the announcement by U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Following a six-day trial before Cox, Sychantha, 43, a dual citizen of Laos and Canada, was convicted of one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, ecstasy and BZP; one count of possession of methamphetamine, ecstasy and BZP with intent to distribute; and one count of possession of ecstasy and BZP with intent to distribute.
Evidence at trial showed that Sychantha led an organization that directed several couriers to transport hundreds of thousands of pills and tens of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds across the U.S.-Canada border over an eight-year span. His couriers — many of whom were caught and convicted themselves — traveled to multiple states to deliver the pills. David Sok, Sychantha’s right-hand man, was also extradited from Canada and pleaded guilty earlier in the proceedings.
Prior to Sychantha’s extradition to the United States, he fled house arrest in Canada and HSI Detroit added him to the HSI’s Ten Most Wanted List. He was subsequently arrested in the Montreal, Canada, area in 2017 following an assault on a police officer and a short pursuit.
“Sychantha sought to flood our communities with illicit drugs, bringing violence and pain to both sides of the border,” said Salazar. “HSI special agents, prosecutors and law enforcement partners worked diligently for more than a decade to seek justice and accountability for these crimes. This conviction is a testament to their perseverance.”
“Drug dealers who think they can hide behind international borders and couriers they hire to take all the risks, should think again,” Ison said. “Together with our agency partners, we remain committed to working up drug trafficking supply chains to dismantle transnational criminal organizations and hold their leaders accountable, and this case demonstrates the depth of that commitment.”
Sychantha faces a mandatory 10-year prison sentence, with a maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment. Sentencing will occur on Feb. 19, 2025. Sychantha remains in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing.
The case was investigated by HSI Detroit with significant assistance from HSI Toronto, HSI Montreal, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal, the York Regional Police Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Norwood and T. Patrick Martin.