By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
Â
A FEDERAL inmate, Bing Li, currently serving time in Missouri, has petitioned the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands to return a jade necklace with a talisman he claims was confiscated during his 2023 detention on Saipan.
Li said the pendant is a family heirloom of deep sentimental value. In a series of letters submitted to the court, he alleges that staff at both the Saipan prison and the federal holding facility took the item upon his arrival and failed to respond to repeated inquiries.
Li is scheduled for release and deportation to China on Dec. 25, 2025, and argues that the return of the pendant is urgent.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona treated Li’s letters to the court as a formal motion under Rule 41(g) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which allows individuals to seek the return of property seized by the government.
In an order issued by the court, Judge Manglona directed the U.S. government to respond to the motion by Oct. 16, 2025.
The order also cited Department of Corrections regulations governing inmate intake procedures: all inmates are searched upon entry, confiscated items are documented, valuables are retained by staff, and neck jewelry is not permitted.
Li was sentenced in 2023 to 51 months in prison for receiving 1,084 grams (2.13 pounds) of methamphetamine by mail.
He pleaded guilty on March 17, 2023, to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
According to the criminal complaint against Li, CNMI Customs & Biosecurity officers seized approximately 1,048 gross grams of methamphetamine from him on Jan. 26, 2023, at the U.S. Post Office in Chalan Kanoa. He was accompanied by another individual, identified in court documents as “Individual 1.”
As part of standard procedure, CNMI Customs officers opened a package addressed to Li, with him present for a routine inspection. “Upon opening the package, a white crystallized substance consistent in appearance with methamphetamine was observed in plain view. A sample from the package was field-tested and returned positive for the presence of methamphetamine,” the complaint stated.