An Irving woman who sold date-rape drugs over the internet was sentenced Thursday to more than 12 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
Hyun Ji Martin, 40, was first charged in June 2021. She pleaded guilty in August 2021 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and was sentenced Thursday by Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means to 151 months in federal prison.
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will not stop in pursuing those who wish to flood our streets with dangerous drugs,” said Thomas Noyes, Inspector in Charge of the Postal Inspection Service’s Fort Worth Division. “This sentencing represents our commitment to safeguarding the mail from illicit drug trafficking and bringing those responsible to justice. We thank all those who helped in achieving this outcome, including North Texas Parcel Task Force members, the USPS-OIG, DEA, HSI, CBP and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas.“
According to court documents, Ms. Martin sold gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), commonly known as “the date rape drug,” over the dark web.
On Nov. 6, 2020, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Parcel Task Force officers observed Ms. Martin deliver 15 parcels to a post office in Irving, Texas. They retained two parcels for investigation. Inside, they found approximately 208 ml of a clear liquid, which they suspected was GHB or an analogue known as gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), concealed in contact lens solution bottles.
On June 3, 2021, officers executed a search warrant at Ms. Martin’s apartment, where they discovered large quantities of GHB, GBL, methamphetamine, USPS shipping supplies, contact lens solution bottles, and a lab used to convert GBL to GHB. In a subsequent interview with law enforcement, Ms. Martin said she routinely ordered GBL from China, converted some of it to GHB, and sold both GHB and GBL on the dark web.
Agents eventually identified more than 1,600 outgoing parcels associated with Ms. Martin, mostly mailed using fictitious shipper names and addresses.
Shortly after her guilty plea, Ms. Martin absconded. She was re-arrested in June 2022 and transported back to North Texas for sentencing.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s North Texas Parcel Task Force and Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s South Central Lab and U.S. Customs & Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob Boudreau prosecuted the case with the help of Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Lo Galbo.