David Nguyen Gets 10 Years for MDMA, Weed Smuggling

BOSTON — A Canadian national has been locked up for a decade after admitting his role in a cross-border drug and cash smuggling ring that flooded Massachusetts with MDMA and marijuana. David Nguyen, 40, of Toronto, Canada, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 10 years in federal prison and slapped with a $10,000 fine.

Nguyen pleaded guilty in October 2016 to one count of conspiracy to distribute MDMA and marijuana, and one count of money laundering conspiracy. The charges stem from a sprawling operation that ran from February 2010 to March 2012, during which Nguyen and co-conspirator Gurshuran Singh recruited couriers to drive drugs across the Canadian border into the U.S. The narcotics were delivered to Joshua Rabinovitch in Salem, Mass., who distributed them locally and funneled the cash back north.

The scheme escalated in March 2012, when Nguyen and Singh sent Shivinder Kanwal on a run to deliver 15 kilos of MDMA to Rabinovitch. The following month, they dispatched Adeel Bhutta to collect $240,000 in drug proceeds from Rabinovitch, evidence showing their operation was as much about moving money as moving drugs.

Law enforcement closed in fast. Bhutta was sentenced in July 2014 to 28 months in prison for his role in the money laundering. Rabinovitch followed in February 2015, receiving 24 months for his dual role in the drug and cash conspiracies. Singh pleaded guilty in August 2016 and awaits sentencing on April 5, 2017. Kanwal also pleaded guilty and is set for sentencing on March 22, 2017.

Nguyen was indicted in January 2014 and arrested in Canada that May. After a lengthy legal process, Canada ordered his extradition in July 2016 and temporarily surrendered him to U.S. authorities in October 2016. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs played a key role in securing his transfer to face justice on American soil.

“This sentence sends a clear message: we will pursue and prosecute international drug traffickers no matter where they operate,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. Matthew Etre, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, added that dismantling cross-border networks remains a top priority. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth B. Kosto of the Cybercrime Unit and Timothy E. Moran of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit.

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