FARGO (KFGO) – Another defendant in the federal investigation known as “Operation Denial” has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the international fentanyl trafficking conspiracy.
Xuan Nguyen, 43, of Quebec, Canada was extradited to the United States in 2021 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and import controlled substances resulting in serious bodily injury and death and money laundering conspiracy last year.
As part of that plea, Nguyen acknowledged assisting Daniel Vivas Ceron and Jason Berry with their international fentanyl distribution operation that they were running from inside a Quebec prison. Berry and Vivas Ceron are scheduled to be sentenced later this month.
The investigation began in North Dakota on January 3, 2015, with the overdose death in Grand Forks of Bailey Henke. It has led to 31 defendants charged in North Dakota and $1 million in cash and property forfeited from members of the organization.
The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Chinese national Jian Zhang a fugitive in the transnational investigation.