A New York woman will spend nine years in federal prison for laundering more than $92 million in drug trafficking proceeds.

Shu Jun Zhen, 31, was sentenced Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the Western District of North Carolina and ordered to forfeit nearly $23 million, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina. The Cornelius and Huntersville police departments are among the agencies on the Homeland Security Task Force team in Charlotte that supported the investigation.

Zhen served as a courier for a Chinese money laundering organization, or CMLO. She collected cash from U.S.-based drug traffickers and deposited it into shell company bank accounts using both real and fake identities, according to court documents. She personally picked up and deposited approximately $23 million in illicit bulk cash.

The scheme moved money tied to illegal drugs imported into the United States primarily through Mexico, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Zhen pleaded guilty in July 2025 to one count of money laundering conspiracy, one count of money laundering to conceal illicit proceeds and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction involving criminally derived property greater than $10,000. She admitted she knew the funds included drug trafficking proceeds.

U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson for the Western District of North Carolina said the organization moved over $90 million in illicit funds in less than two years. "These cases are complex, but they prove one thing … these sophisticated cartels are no match for the United States Department of Justice," Ferguson said in a statement.

Zhen is the second member of the organization to receive a significant sentence. Jianfei Lu, 31, a Chinese national who served as both a courier and manager for the same CMLO, was sentenced in August to 15 years in prison and ordered to forfeit $25 million, according to a separate Justice Department announcement. Lu personally handled more than $20 million in illicit cash and procured fake driver's licenses for other couriers, court documents state.

The Drug Enforcement Administration's Charlotte District Office and the IRS Criminal Investigation Charlotte Field Office are leading the investigation. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation also provided assistance.

The case falls under the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), a federal initiative targeting criminal cartels and transnational criminal organizations. The Charlotte-based team, known as HSTF CORE 23, includes more than two dozen federal, state and local agencies. The Cornelius Police Department and Huntersville Police Department are listed members alongside Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, the FBI, ATF and others.

The federal announcement does not detail what specific roles Cornelius and Huntersville officers played in this investigation. The case is ongoing.