A Miami man has pleaded guilty to trafficking synthetic drugs like “bath salts” from China into the United States, authorities said.
Terrell Jermaine Williams, 40, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to import N-Isopropyl Butylone into the U.S. and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute N-Isopropyl Butylone, the U.S, Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said.
Miami-Dade CorrectionsMiami-Dade Corrections
Terrell Jermaine Williams
Prosecutors said Williams conspired with a China-based drug distributor to import N-Isopropyl Butylone, a Schedule I drug and synthetic cathinone often called “bath salts” or “flakka,” into the U.S. as early as 2022 and continuing through 2025.
Williams and the distributor communicated through a messaging app, with the distributor sending him photos of the drugs, authorities said.
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of FloridaU.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida
A Miami man has pleaded guilty to trafficking synthetic drugs like “bath salts” from China into the United States, authorities said.
In one message from November 2023, the distributor advised Williams to stock up on the drugs before they were banned so he could charge higher prices when they became unavailable, prosecutors said.
“do not tell other ppl ,just try stock up the most you can , because after its banned, ppl will look for it crazily ,by then you can sell at a much higher price and profits will be huge for you,” the message read, according to prosecutors.
Another conversation from April 2024 involved the distributor giving Williams a warning: “its election year there , they check more frequently than before, you know firearms and drugs from china.”
Homeland Security Investigations Miami worked with Homeland Security Investigations Guangzhou in China in the investigation which led to the seizure in September 2025 of 700 kilograms of the synthetic drugs in China that were believed to be destined for the U.S., authorities said.
Williams faces up to 20 years in prison on each count at sentencing.
“This defendant worked with a supplier overseas to bring a dangerous synthetic drug into South Florida and profit from its distribution,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement. “Synthetic cathinones—often referred to on the street as ‘bath salts’ or ‘flakka’—are powerful and unpredictable stimulants that pose a serious threat to public safety. Our Office will continue working with the Homeland Security Task Force and our federal, local, and international partners to stop these trafficking pipelines and prevent dangerous narcotics from reaching our communities.”