One of HSI’s Most Wanted Convicted, Awaits Sentencing for Trafficking Drugs into U.S.
One of HSI’s most wanted is staring at the possibility of life in federal prison, after being convicted of drug trafficking charges. The suspect is accused of running a drug ring across the U.S.-Canada border.
One of Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) most wanted criminals is heading to federal prison, following his extradition and conviction in federal court on drug trafficking charges.
Khaophone Sychantha was found guilty on all counts on by Chief U.S. District Judge Sean F. Cox in Detroit.
Sychantha, a citizen of both Canada and Laos, was accused of running a drug ring across the U.S. - Canada border.
Prosecutors say he directed couriers to transport hundreds of thousands of pills and tens of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds across the border. Those carriers then traveled to multiple states to deliver the pills.
“Drug dealers who think they can hide behind international borders and couriers they hire to take all the risks, should think again,” said U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison of the Eastern District of Michigan.
Sychantha was added to HSI’s Ten Most Wanted List after fleeing house arrest in Canada in 2011. He was arrested again in the Montreal area in 2017 following an assault on a police officer. He was extradited to the U.S. in 2023.
“HSI special agents, prosecutors and law enforcement partners worked diligently for more than a decade to seek justice and accountability for these crimes. This conviction is a testament to their perseverance,” said HSI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie M. Salazar.
David Sok, Sychantha’s right-hand man, was also extradited from Canada and pleaded guilty.
Sychantha was convicted of one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, ecstasy and BZP; one count of possession of methamphetamine, ecstasy and BZP with intent to distribute; and one count of possession of ecstasy and BZP with intent to distribute.
Sychantha remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) as he awaits sentencing in February 2025. He faces a minimum of ten years in prison, with a life sentence possible.
The investigation was led by HSI Detroit with assistance from HSI Toronto, HSI Montreal, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), USMS, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and a slew of Canadian law enforcement partners.