Demi Pham, Methamphetamine Trafficking, California 2022

LOS ANGELES – A former San Gabriel Valley resident who fled the United States on the eve of her May 2022 methamphetamine trafficking trial has been extradited from Singapore, authorities announced today.

Demi Pham, 44, a.k.a. “Diem Thi Ly,” a dual U.S.-Vietnamese citizen formerly of Rosemead, arrived Thursday evening at Los Angeles International Airport on a flight from Singapore.

She is expected to make her initial appearance this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

Pham is charged with one count of conspiracy to export controlled substances, two counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of attempted exportation of methamphetamine.

According to a four-count indictment, from November 2018 to May 2019, Pham and a co-conspirator enlisted couriers to transport methamphetamine and cocaine in luggage from the United States to Australia, concealing the drugs inside candles and toy boxes.

In total, law enforcement seized more than 20 kilograms (44.1 pounds) of methamphetamine from couriers and found more than 10 kilograms (22.1 pounds) of methamphetamine at Pham’s then-residence in Rosemead.

If convicted, Pham would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Assistant United States Attorneys David Y. Pi of the Major Frauds Section and David C. Lachman of the National Security Division are prosecuting this case.

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