A woman from Santa Rosa has confessed to helping her husband in his illegal drug business.
She pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy charges in a federal court in Boston.
Christina Lua, 50, was involved in a scheme to hide the money made from selling methamphetamine and marijuana.
Seized during the investigation were over 160 pounds of methamphetamine, an AK-47, a serial number-lacking Glock, two loaded Smith & Wesson handguns, and a stockpile of more than 4,200 rounds of ammunition.
Amidst the criminal evidence, law enforcement brought an illegal marijuana grow op to its knees, uprooting hundreds of plants.
Her husband's associates, Reshat Alkayisi and Andre Watson, have also pled guilty and have sentencing dates set for July in the court calendar.
The plea, made by Lua, falls on the shadow of an extensive operation that shed light on a drug trafficking ring sprawling across the New England area.
According to a U.S. Attorney's Office statement, she aided Alkayisi in turning the cash from drug sales into seemingly legitimate assets by buying vehicles and strategically depositing cash in structured amounts designed to fly under regulatory radar.
As the operation's walls tumbled down, Lua became the ninth defendant to enter a guilty plea in a case initially indicting 11 individuals for their roles in the orchestrated network of narcotics and weapon offenses.
Found paddling through the streams of criminal finance, she faces up to 20 years behind bars, with sentencing slated for July 12, 2024, under the gavel of U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton.
A team made up of the FBI, DEA, and local law enforcement worked together to break up this criminal operation. Their collaboration shows how powerful teamwork can be against large illegal operations. This case shows the mission of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) to stop dangerous criminal enterprises. If you want to learn more about how they work together, you can find detailed information about OCDETF's strategy.