DEA Investigation Traced International Supply Chain from South Korea and California to Washington, D.C.
Eleven defendants are charged in a five-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in connection with a sprawling, transnational drug trafficking organization that imported massive quantities of methamphetamine from California and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) from South Korea for distribution in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere along the East Coast, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
This operation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order.
“This long-term investigation peeled back the layers of a sophisticated drug trafficking empire—one that recruited well-educated operatives, laundered its proceeds through sham beauty companies, and flooded our streets with two of the most dangerous and lethal drug combinations available,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “As part of President Trump’s Homeland Security Taskforce and its whole-of-government approach, this case reflects the coordinated efforts of law enforcement and national security partners across jurisdictions and borders. From a storage unit in Northeast Washington to a warehouse in Seoul, we followed the supply chain end-to-end—and we’ve shut it down.”
“Drug traffickers only care about making a profit and living ‘the good life.’ This investigation started after a fatal poisoning of a DMV resident. The DEA, alongside federal, state, and local partners, are committed to a safer capital,” said Christopher Goumenis, Special Agent in Charge- DEA Washington Division. “The operation highlighted today by Judge Pirro removed dangerous individuals and poisonous substances from the streets and serves as a great example of our partnership, as well as a testament to our collective efforts to protect American citizens.”
“Today's announcement demonstrates IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to disrupting the illicit flow of money that enables narcotics traffickers to launder millions in illegal proceeds,” said Kareem Carter, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (CI), Washington D.C. “IRS-CI special agents will continue to proactively leverage our knowledge and unique skills for the betterment of our communities. Whether it is money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act violations, complex financial fraud, or leveraging our tax authority, we will continue working alongside our federal partners to take criminals off the street and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.”
“This investigation disrupted a drug trafficking network that was allegedly pumping highly addictive, dangerous drugs into our Nation’s Capital,” said Eric Weindorf, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations, Washington, D.C. “Working alongside our federal, local, and global partners, we traced the supply chain from an international parcel to a local distributor, and ultimately to a broader transnational criminal organization. It cannot be overstated: every drug seizure means less poison on our streets and in our neighborhoods. Together with our Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) counterparts, HSI will not allow criminals to profit by endangering our communities, undermining our safety, or threatening our livelihoods.”
The indictment charges Artemio Jacobo-Magana, Aaron James Landry, Matthew Thomas Kent, Colton Keet Huthsing, Rene Alexander Acosta, Joshua Glen Taylor, Robert David Fitch, Michael Robert Spitzer, Scott Patrick Morgan (aka “Scotty Rox”), and Kenneth Harold Archer with conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, 50 grams or more of pure methamphetamine (actual), and a detectable amount of GBL.
Three defendants — Spitzer, Morgan, and another individual — are additionally charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with their drug trafficking activity. Kent also faces three counts of distribution of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine (actual) for specific transactions in the District of Columbia. A twelfth defendant, Gregory Wallace, is separately charged by complaint with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and GBL, and with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Chief Judge James E. Boasberg is presiding over the case. All defendants face mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years to life in prison.
According to court documents, from at least January 2023 through April 2026, the defendants and their co-conspirators operated a multi-layered drug trafficking network stretching along the Northeast Corridor from New York City to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. The conspiracy had active expansion efforts underway into Chicago, Florida, and Southern California. The organization sourced methamphetamine in California and imported GBL from South Korea, distributing both substances to an established customer base while actively recruiting new markets.
The conspiracy operated with a defined division of labor. Upstream suppliers sourced narcotics in bulk; regional distributors stored, repackaged, and moved product; and downstream distributors sold to customers while collecting and concealing proceeds. Members used encrypted messaging applications, coded language, commercial parcel services, stash locations, and shell business entities to facilitate and conceal operations. The conspiracy accepted drug payments through peer-to-peer payment platforms and laundered the funds through business accounts designed to disguise the proceeds as legitimate income.
The Drug Combination: Meth and GBL
GBL is an industrial solvent with legitimate commercial applications as a paint remover, adhesive, and nail polish remover. When illegally sold for human use, it is a Schedule I controlled substance. The body rapidly metabolizes GBL into GHB, one of the most pervasive date rape drugs currently available. GBL is sometimes called “Liquid Ecstasy” and is abused as a euphoria-inducing club drug. GBL has a dangerously narrow safety margin: a small increase in dosage can produce unconsciousness, seizures, slowed heart rate, severe respiratory depression, coma, or death.
The organization distributed methamphetamine and GBL together for simultaneous consumption in a poly-drug combination known as “sexchem.” The pairing is considered lethal and unpredictable. The investigation identified that local D.C.-based distributors were selling the drugs together as party drugs, compounding the risk to users.
The Network: From Seoul to the Northeast Corridor
The GBL supply chain traced back to South Korea, where a businesswoman and exporter, Sohyeon An, was shipping GBL in enormous quantities to destinations in Australia, Europe, and the United States. To facilitate the importation, members of the conspiracy established sham beauty product companies in New York and Washington, D.C. and used the companies to import GBL from South Korea at a rate of about 600 liters per month at the organization’s peak. The conspiracy falsely declared the shipments of GBL shipments as cleaning solutions and beauty supplies. On multiple occasions, U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted the shipments.
Working with South Korean law enforcement, U.S. prosecutors and agents traveled to Seoul to identify GBL exporters and disrupt the supply chain at its source. That bilateral cooperation resulted in the arrest of five South Korean nationals by South Korean authorities and, in September 2025, the seizure of approximately 1.5 metric tons of GBL — the largest domestic seizure of a controlled substance ever recorded in South Korea.
Methamphetamine, sourced in California, was shipped in distribution-weight quantities across state lines using commercial parcel services including UPS and the U.S. Postal Service, with shipments coordinated through encrypted applications. Nearly all methamphetamine seizures in this case exceeded 90% purity.
The D.C.-Based Defendants
According to court documents, Matthew Thomas Kent, 40, served as a primary distributor in the District of Columbia, acquiring multi-pound quantities of methamphetamine and kilogram quantities of GBL for redistribution from stash locations in Northeast Washington, D.C. Kent was arrested in March 2024 in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, where law enforcement recovered approximately 480 grams of methamphetamine from his vehicle. In June 2024, agents executed a search warrant at his residence in Northeast D.C. and recovered approximately 210 grams of methamphetamine and a Glock 9mm pistol.
Kent continued trafficking after his arrest: in April 2025, he directed a controlled purchase of approximately 221 grams of methamphetamine, which tested at 98% purity, at his residence in the District. In July 2025, he was found at Union Station in possession of approximately 400 grams of methamphetamine at 97% purity that he had transported from Philadelphia by train. A drug ledger shared between Kent and co-defendant Huthsing, recovered from Kent's phone, included a transaction record, written in coded language, detailing the narcotics the two were allegedly trafficking.
Colton Keet Huthsing, 30, of Washington, D.C., operated as a distributor and organizer, coordinating with other members to obtain and distribute methamphetamine and GBL, maintaining drug ledgers, and directing subordinate participants. Following the September 2025 South Korean seizures and arrests, Huthsing attempted to fill the resulting void in the U.S.-based GBL market by incorporating a shell corporation and importing bulk quantities of GBL from abroad. In February 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted a parcel destined for Huthsing’s Washington, D.C. apartment. The package contained more than six kilograms of GBL. Law enforcement searched Huthsing’s apartment on April 29, 2026, and recovered large quantities of narcotics, packaging materials, a money counter, multiple digital scales, and flight records reflecting international travel to Switzerland and other destinations.
Joshua Glen Taylor, 47, of Washington, D.C., was a supplier and redistributor of large quantities of methamphetamine in the District of Columbia. Financial records for Taylor obtained over the course of the investigation reflect hundreds of thousands of dollars in transactions consistent with narcotics trafficking. Agents arrested Taylor on April 29, 2026, at a hotel in Short Pump, Virginia, where approximately a half pound of methamphetamine and a half ounce of fentanyl were recovered from his room.
Also charged as members of the conspiracy were Robert David Fitch, 40, of Baltimore, Maryland; Michael Robert Spitzer, 52, of New York City; Scott Patrick Morgan, 44, of New York City; Kenneth Harold Archer, 46, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Rene Alexander Acosta, 33, of Baltimore, Maryland; Aaron James Landry, 39, of Los Angeles; and Artemio Jacobo-Magana, 26, of Santa Ana, California.
The Takedow
On April 29, 2026, law enforcement arrested eight of the East Coast-based defendants and executed search warrants across eight federal judicial districts, including the District of Columbia, the District of Maryland, the Eastern District of Virginia, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Southern District of New York, the Eastern District of New York, the Northern District of New York, and the Southern District of Florida.
This morning, May 7, 2026, law enforcement arrested two California-based defendants, Jacobo-Magana and Landry, and executed two additional search warrants in Central District of California.
During the two takedowns, law enforcement recovered approximately 7.5 kilograms of methamphetamine, about 24 kilograms of GBL, additional narcotics including cocaine and pills, and more than $150,000 in cash.
Over the full course of the investigation and prior to takedown, law enforcement seized more than 35 kilograms of high-purity methamphetamine. Agents recovered about 800 kilos of GBL in the United States, one of the largest seizures of GBL in the East Coast. More than 1.5 metric tons of GBL was seized in South Korea.
Joining U.S. Attorney Pirro in the announcement were DEA Special Agent in Charge Christopher Goumenis of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division; HSI Special Agent in Charge Eric Weindorf of Homeland Security Investigations Washington D.C.; IRS-CI Asst. Special Agent in Charge Cynthia Hearn of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; and Assistant Inspector in Charge Charles Wickersham of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division.
This investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division; Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; Homeland Security Investigation Washington Field Office; the DEA New York Division Office; the DEA Seoul Country Office; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division; and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The Metropolitan Police Department and Arlington County Police provided valuable assistance.
The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Kinskey, George P. Eliopoulos, and Solomon S. Eppel of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking (VCNT) Section for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
This operation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Washington D.C. comprises agents and officers from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, IRS Criminal Investigations and others with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
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