Michael Correa Gets 57 Months for Ethylone Import Scheme

A Rahway, New Jersey, man has been slammed with a 57-month federal prison sentence for running a high-stakes scheme to flood Union County with nearly four kilograms of ethylone shipped straight from China. Michael Correa, 32, admitted his role in the conspiracy, which spanned from October 2013 to July 2014, bringing a dangerous synthetic drug into the U.S. under the radar of customs and law enforcement.

Correa pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden to one count of conspiring to distribute ethylone, a Schedule I controlled substance often sold as ‘bath salts’ or ‘molly.’ The drug, a potent synthetic stimulant, mimics the effects of amphetamines and MDMA but carries severe health risks, including hallucinations, paranoia, and cardiac distress. Federal prosecutors say Correa coordinated with co-conspirator Thomas Seymore, 38, of Carteret, to receive the shipment at a drop location in Teaneck, New Jersey.

The operation relied on international smuggling, with ethylone ordered from suppliers in China and shipped through commercial mail. But investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service were already closing in. Packages were intercepted, leads followed, and digital trails traced back to Correa and Seymore, unraveling the network piece by piece.

Judge Hayden handed down the 57-month sentence in federal court in Newark, adding three years of supervised release post-incarceration. The judge emphasized the danger posed by synthetic drugs and the responsibility of traffickers in fueling addiction and overdose crises in communities across New Jersey. Correa showed no visible reaction as the sentence was read.

Seymore, Correa’s partner in the illicit operation, pleaded guilty on October 25, 2016, and awaits sentencing on February 1, 2017. Federal authorities say the case is part of a broader crackdown on dark web-fueled drug trafficking from Asia, where unregulated labs churn out designer drugs tailored to skirt U.S. import laws. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan M. Peck handled the prosecution for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).

The investigation was spearheaded by DEA Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski, HSI’s Terence S. Opiola, and Postal Inspection Service’s James V. Buthorn. Correa was represented by Steven Altman, Esq. of New Brunswick. As synthetic drugs continue to infiltrate suburban streets, law enforcement warns that even small-scale importers like Correa play a critical role in a deadly national epidemic.