Xian Xi Li is escorted by a Corrections officer at the local courthouse on Monday.
THE CNMI Drug Enforcement Task Force has arrested Xian Xi Li, who is accused of selling an undercover agent $2,000 worth of methamphetamine on two occasions.
Li, 51, was charged with two counts of trafficking a controlled substance and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.
Li appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho for a bail hearing on Monday afternoon in the custody of the Department of Corrections.
Assistant Public Defender Karie Comstock represented Li while Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds appeared for the government. Yijia Zhao served as Li’s interpreter.
Judge Camacho remanded Li to the custody of Corrections after imposing a $100,000 cash bail on the defendant.
Li was ordered to return to court for a preliminary hearing on May 29 at 10 a.m. and for an arraignment on June 3 at 9 a.m.
The complaint
According to the complaint against Li, prior to arresting him, the DETF acquired an eavesdropping warrant from the court to observe the alleged drug activities of the defendant at his residence.
On May 14, the DETF operatives conducted a “buy-walk” operation. An undercover officer contacted Li regarding the purchase of $500 worth of methamphetamine.
The undercover agent bought three grams of methamphetamine, which, after being tested, yielded positive for methamphetamine presence.
On May 17, the DETF operatives conducted another “buy-walk” operation in which an undercover agent contacted Li to purchase $1,500 worth of methamphetamine. They agreed to meet at a pre-arranged location.
When Li entered the vehicle of the undercover agent with seven grams of methamphetamine in his possession, the DETF operatives arrested him. The evidence procured from the buy-bust operation yielded positive for methamphetamine after being field tested.
The DETF also executed a search warrant for Li’s residence, where its operatives found two Ziploc bags containing a crystalline substance, two straws, one weight scale, multiple Ziploc bags, one Chinese passport, ten dollars in cash, one copy of a driver’s license, and a document with Chinese writing on it.
The crystalline substance found inside Li’s residence tested positive for methamphetamine and weighed 4.4 grams, DETF said.
