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U.S. and Chinese authorities collaborated on an investigation that led to the seizure of 700 kilos (1,540 pounds) of the recreational stimulant drug known as \u2018bath salts\u2019 in China last year.<\/p>\n
U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of Florida<\/p>\n
A Miami-area man used the U.S. Postal Service for years to smuggle a designer drug known as \u201cbath salts\u201d into the United States, the latest federal case that authorities say highlights the illicit-narcotics pipeline between China and South Florida.<\/p>\n
Terrell Jermaine Williams, 40, of Homestead, plead guilty on Wednesday in Miami federal court to conspiring with a Chinese supplier to import N-Isopropyl Butylone into the United States and conspiring to possess with intent to distribute N-Isopropyl Butylone \u2014 a recreational stimulant drug with unpredictable potency.<\/p>\n
A factual statement filed with his plea agreement showed that Williams imported a steady supply of bath salts, which contain N-Isopropyl Butylone, and other designer drugs from his Chinese supplier since 2022, according to federal prosecutor Monique Botero.<\/p>\n
Williams became the target of a federal probe a year ago when U.S. Customs officers intercepted a package of about 1,020 grams (2.2 pounds) of bath salts that were mailed from the Chinese supplier via the China Post to his Homestead residence. Federal agents put a tracker on the package and followed its delivery to his home, where he opened the shipment and was arrested.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis defendant worked with a supplier overseas to bring a dangerous synthetic drug into South Florida and profit from its distribution,\u201d Miami-based U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Qui\u00f1ones said in a statement. \u201cSynthetic cathinones \u2014 often referred to on the street as \u2018bath salts\u2019 or \u2018flakka\u2019 \u2014 are powerful and unpredictable stimulants that pose a serious threat to public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his plea deal, Williams admitted that he communicated with the Chinese distributor through a messaging platform. In one message in November 2023, the distributor encouraged Williams to stock up on the substance before it was banned so he could charge higher prices when it became unavailable to others.<\/p>\n
In another conversation in April 2024, the distributor warned Williams, \u201cits election year there, they check more frequently than before, you know firearms and drugs from china.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Williams\u2019 investigation stretched to China, where Homeland Security Investigations has an office in Guangzhou. There, HSI agents collaborated with Chinese authorities on a parallel probe.<\/p>\n
In September 2025, China\u2019s Anti-Smuggling Bureau and other regulatory agencies seized about 700 kilos (1,540 pounds) of N-Isopropyl Butylone that was believed to be destined for the United States, according to federal prosecutors.<\/p>\n
At the time of the seizure, N-Isopropyl Butylone was not yet a regulated substance in China. Afterward, Chinese authorities determined the substance had no legitimate use and placed it under regulatory control, restricting its production.<\/p>\n