Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Charge

 ALBANY, NEW YORK – Hailang Xie, age 25, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty today to possessing and intending to distribute 131 pounds of marijuana in Clinton County.

The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Ray Donovan, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division

As part of his guilty plea, Xie admitted that on July 23, 2019, he transported four hockey bags containing 131 pounds of marijuana with the intent to distribute the drugs in the Northern District of New York.  Xie admitted that he was heading south on Interstate 87 near Plattsburgh, New York, when he was pulled over by police.  Xie admitted that he had the hockey bags in the vehicle’s rear seat; the bags were full of multiple vacuum-sealed plastic bags of marijuana, totaling 131 pounds.

Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby scheduled sentencing for March 2, 2021. 

Xie faces up to 20 years in prison and will be subject to at least 3 years of supervised release.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case was investigated by the DEA and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Anderson.