YUZHU Zhang, who is accused of attempting to smuggle 4.9 pounds of methamphetamine from California through mail, is asking the Superior Court to modify his bail, which has been set at $1 million.
But the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Steven Kessel, said the court should deny Zhang’s application for bail modification.
Represented by Assistant Public Defender Vina Seelam, Zhang is “respectfully request[ing] that the Court reduce bail to $300,000 and permit Defendant’s release upon posting $3,000.”
According to Kessel, the defendant is a Chinese national with little to no connections to the CNMI.
“The Commonwealth believes the defendant presents a significant risk of fleeing the jurisdiction if released on bail pending further proceedings in this case,” Kessel added.
Zhang has been charged with importation of contraband, trafficking of a controlled substance, and illegal possession of a controlled substance.
Zhang, who is currently in the custody of the Department of Corrections, has denied the charges.
Seelam has also requested the court to suppress any evidence discovered as a result of the search of her client’s vehicle and any observations by the police during and after the search of Zhang’s vehicle.
It was Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho who imposed a $1 million cash bail on Zhang.
Zhang, through an interpreter, told police investigators that an unknown male offered him $100 to pick up a large parcel of Chinaware at a Garapan postal service and to bring it to the back of a Mobil gas station on Beach Road.
Zhang said the $4,239 in cash that the police found inside his vehicle was his, but not the 19 small clear plastic bags containing methamphetamine that weighed 26.3 grams.
Investigators stated that the cash and meth found in Zhang’s vehicle were strong indications that he was a drug distributor and trafficker.
