Case Study: Chinese Coordination with the Sinaloa Cartel in Drug War in Southern California
A Case Study Based on the 2023 DOJ Indictment (2:23-cr-524(A)-DMG)
Key Actors
Mexican DTOs: Primarily the Sinaloa Cartel, responsible for distributing cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl throughout the U.S.
Chinese Nationals in the U.S.: Including individuals such as Peiji Tong (“Dr. P”), Sai Zhang (“Tommy”), and Jiayong Yu (“Haoran Feng”), among others, who facilitated laundering millions in cash through a network of underground banks and informal value transfer systems.
U.S. Collaborators: A network of couriers, drivers, and brokers based in California and other states that supported pickups, logistics, and distribution.
List of Indicted Defendants
Peiji Tong a/k/a “Dr. P” – Chinese money broker, alleged leader
Sai Zhang a/k/a “Tommy Zhang” – Chinese money broker
Jiayong Yu a/k/a “Haoran Feng” – Money courier
Juan Barajas – DTO middleman
Juan Antonio Barajas – Courier and DTO associate
Jose Jesus Alcantar – Drug and cash courier
Karina Alcantar – Courier
Zhuojun Hu – Chinese courier
Wei Wang – Chinese courier
Zhiqing Sun – Chinese money handler
Ying Sun – Chinese money handler
Shang Wang – Chinese courier
Wei Zhang – Broker
Xuan Zhao – Courier
Bing Li – Broker
Min Zhuang – Broker
Guowei Yang – Broker
Yuanhao Xue – Broker
Meng Zhang – Broker
Shanwu Zhang – Broker
Jinlong Zhang – Broker
Li Zhang – Broker
Dajuan Wang – Courier
Haijuan Tang – Broker
Strategic and Policy Significance
This case shows how Chinese financial networks have become essential enablers of cartel operations:
By laundering cartel money, they increase operational liquidity, allowing the Sinaloa Cartel to scale production and distribution of fentanyl and other narcotics.
They leverage demand among wealthy Chinese citizens to bypass China’s strict currency controls, creating a two-way illicit pipeline.
Their operations are hard to detect using traditional financial surveillance, requiring enhanced scrutiny of informal value transfer systems (IVTS), trade-based laundering, and Chinese capital flight patterns.
This convergence of criminal needs has formed a transnational alliance that directly fuels the fentanyl crisis and undermines U.S. financial security.
Overview