SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho said the Customs officers’ warrantless search of Yuzhu Zhang’s vehicle was unlawful.
Zhang, 48, is accused of attempting to smuggle from California, through mail, 4.9 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of approximately $700,000.
Zhang was charged with importation of contraband, trafficking and possession of a controlled substance. He has denied the charges.
Through Assistant Public Defender Veena Seelam, he has asked the court to suppress all evidence and statements obtained as a result of the search of Zhang’s package, his detention, and the search of his vehicle without a warrant or other legal justification on March 19, 2022.
In his ruling on Monday, Judge Camacho said Zhang “did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the package at the time of the search and that Customs officers complied with their statutory jurisdiction requirements.”
Therefore, the judge added, the court denies the defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence obtained from the search of the package.
However, the judge also found that the Customs officers’ warrantless search of the defendant’s vehicle did not comply with any of the established exceptions that would allow for a warrantless search.
Therefore, the judge added, the court grants the defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence obtained from the search of the vehicle.
Judge Camacho earlier imposed a $1 million cash bail on the defendant who is in the custody of the Department of Corrections.
Through an interpreter, Zhang told police that an “unknown male” offered him $100 to pick up a “large parcel of Chinaware” at a Garapan postal service and bring it to the back of the Mobil gas station on Beach Road.
Zhang also stated that the $4,239 in cash found inside his vehicle was his but not the 19 small clear plastic bags containing methamphetamine weighing 26.3 grams.
Investigators stated that the cash and meth found in Zhang’s vehicle strongly indicated that he was a drug distributor and trafficker.
Joseph N. Camacho
