A Chinese national has been charged in connection with an international drug trafficking operation that allegedly moved large quantities of methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States and then to other countries, including New Zealand. The case involves the use of a virtual mailbox service (VMS) in Wasilla, Alaska.
According to court documents, Zukai He, 42, entered the U.S. illegally in 2017 and has been under an order of removal since September 2024. Authorities allege that while living in the country without authorization, He used stolen personal information from a California resident to open an account at the Wasilla VMS. In January 2024, law enforcement intercepted two parcels sent to this fraudulent account. Federal search warrants revealed nearly three kilograms of methamphetamine hidden inside a heat transfer stamping machine and a 3D printer within those packages.
In May 2024, officials learned that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol seized four parcels mailed from Phoenix, Arizona, destined for New Zealand; each contained over one kilogram of methamphetamine. A fifth similar parcel was also intercepted by CBP with more than one kilogram of the drug.
Authorities identified Zukai He as the person allegedly responsible for mailing these packages. Overall, law enforcement seized more than ten kilograms of methamphetamine linked to He’s alleged activities.
On September 8, 2025, federal agents executed a search warrant at He’s residence in California. They arrested him and confiscated 14 cell phones, two laptops, 25 point-of-sale systems, over six kilograms of a substance consistent with methamphetamine, more than $13,000 in cash and various financial documents. These documents included records for nine suspected shell or front businesses registered across California, Colorado, Maryland and New York—either under He’s name or names belonging to identity theft victims.
He is charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He remains in federal custody pending his initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Alaska’s District Court. If convicted on this charge alone he faces up to forty years in prison; sentencing will be determined by a federal judge after consideration of guidelines and statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska announced the charges alongside Inspector in Charge Anthony Galetti from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Seattle Division Office and Special Agent in Charge David Reames from the DEA Seattle Field Division.
The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Anchorage Domicile along with DEA offices based both in Seattle and Anchorage; Homeland Security Investigations provided additional support.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephan Collins and Alana Weber are prosecuting this case.
“This case is part of Operation Take Back America,” according to authorities—a nationwide initiative designed “to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime and drug trafficking.” The program coordinates resources through Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) as well as Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). More details about Operation Take Back America can be found at https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline
Officials emphasized: “A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
