Meth Sold Yards from a School: Two Chinese Nationals Jailed in U.S. Pacific Territory

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A tourist bar in Saipan becomes a drug front – and federal prosecutors are sending a message

A federal court in the U.S. Pacific territory of Saipan has sentenced two Chinese nationals to three years in prison each for selling methamphetamine within walking distance of an elementary school. The case has put a spotlight on a persistent drug trafficking problem involving foreign nationals in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) — a remote U.S. territory that sits strategically between China and American military bases in the Pacific.

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Bar Owners Sold Drugs to Undercover Informant

Dong Han, 52, and Yinhua Yang, 49, were sentenced on March 26, 2026, by Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. Each received 36 months in federal prison, one year of supervised release, 50 hours of community service, and a $100 mandatory assessment fee.

The two operated Smile Bar, a business located in the Paseo de Marianas — Saipan's main tourist district — within walking distance of Garapan Elementary School.

The investigation began quietly. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) received a tip in March 2025 from a cooperating source who identified Han as a methamphetamine distributor, claiming to have purchased drugs from him on multiple occasions. Surveillance later linked Yang to the operation.

In May 2025, the two sold $1,000 worth of methamphetamine to a confidential informant. Yang directed the informant to collect the drugs from near a stairwell entrance — where 10 grams of meth was found hidden inside a cigarette pack. During a subsequent search, agents recovered $15,616 from the defendants' bedroom, including $400 traced directly to the informant's drug buy.

Both Han and Yang were arrested on July 1, 2025, during an HSI task force raid. Han pleaded guilty in August 2025, Yang in September.

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"Within Yards of a School" — Prosecutors Call It a Direct Threat to Children

Federal authorities were particularly alarmed by the location of the drug sales. Garapan Elementary School stands just a short walk from the Smile Bar.

DEA Special Agent in Charge Anthony Chrysanthis stated that the proximity to a school made the case especially concerning, adding that the sentencing sends a clear message to anyone who endangers communities with drug trafficking.

Prosecutors described the Smile Bar in court filings as a hub for both drug distribution and prostitution, calling it a contaminating presence in what was once a thriving tourist area.

U.S. Attorney Shawn N. Anderson stated that his office will continue to pursue sentencing enhancements to hold foreign drug dealers fully accountable.

Prosecutors had originally sought longer sentences — 60 months for Han and 63 months for Yang — citing that both had made false statements to investigators after their guilty pleas. The judge settled on 36 months for each.

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Immigration Loophole Under Scrutiny

The case raises difficult questions about immigration enforcement in the CNMI. Han holds a U.S. green card as the spouse of an American citizen, though prosecutors have indicated they intend to pursue its revocation.

Yang's status is more troubling. She is a Chinese citizen who arrived in Saipan in 2015 as a tourist and remained in the country without legal status ever since. Saipan is the only U.S. jurisdiction that allows Chinese nationals to stay for up to two weeks without a visa under a special waiver program — a policy that has drawn increasing scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers.

In late 2023, more than 30 U.S. senators and representatives wrote to the Department of Homeland Security raising concerns that the visa waiver program had made the islands vulnerable to drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and organized crime.

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A Wider Pattern: Chinese Nationals and Meth in the Pacific

The Han-Yang case is not an isolated incident. It fits into a troubling regional trend that federal prosecutors have tracked for years.

In one high-profile case, a Chinese national named Ye Fang arrived in Saipan in 2016 under the same tourist visa waiver, overstayed his visa, ran a birth tourism business for years, and later built a methamphetamine trafficking network — eventually smuggling drugs concealed inside lava lamps before being captured, extradited, and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2025.

Federal prosecutors have consistently highlighted how the region's strategic location makes it attractive to transnational drug networks, with suspected Asian organized crime groups transporting multi-kilogram quantities from Hong Kong and other parts of Asia into U.S. Pacific territories.

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What Comes Next

Han and Yang will serve their sentences in a U.S. federal facility. Han faces potential loss of his permanent resident status. Yang, who has no legal right to remain in the United States, is expected to be deported after completing her sentence.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Albert S. Flores Jr. and Eric S. O'Malley, and investigated by HSI and the DEA in collaboration with CNMI's Department of Public Safety.

For the residents of Saipan, the sentencing marks a small but symbolic victory in an ongoing battle — one fought in courtrooms, in tourist bars, and in the narrow streets near an elementary school where children walk every day.

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Sources

1. U.S. Department of Justice – Official Press Release, April 6, 2026: https://www.justice.gov/usao-gu/pr/chinese-nationals-sentenced-distributing-methamphetamine
2. Marianas Variety – Sentencing Report: https://www.mvariety.com/news/local/local-news-three-years-in-prison-for-meth-sales-near-garapan-school/article_e3c72b48-541c-40e1-a676-a2a0e8f89c81.html
3. Marianas Variety – Guilty Plea Report (Yang): https://www.mvariety.com/news/local/smile-massage-operator-pleads-guilty-to-meth-conspiracy-near-school/article_fd34cb93-8094-4a6e-9868-f10041f3f784.html
4. Marianas Variety – Arrest Report: https://www.mvariety.com/news/local/2-charged-in-smile-massage-and-bar-drug-raid/article_b7e7fa1c-cd05-44af-bbca-b4a5938bff0e.html
5. Newsweek – Congressional concerns over CNMI visa waiver and Chinese nationals: https://www.newsweek.com/republican-warns-about-chinese-spies-near-military-bases-1884666
6. Isla Public / KPRG News – Ye Fang sentencing (25 years): https://www.islapublic.org/news/2025-05-06/transnational-drug-trafficker-sentenced-to-25-years-in-prison

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