Medford Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Pot Smuggling Ring

A Medford man faces at least five years in prison after pleading guilty to his role in a marijuana smuggling conspiracy that brought an estimated 600 pounds of pot into the U.S. from Canada.

Huy Hoang Nguyen -- known to his accomplices as "Boston" -- struck a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in western New York last week, pleading guilty to a count of conspiracy to possess at least 100 kilograms of marijuana. The charge carries a sentence of 5 to 40 years in prison, but in exchange for the guilty plea prosecutors are seeking 5- to 6-years prison time for Nguyen, according to the plea agreement, filed July 9. He'll also have to forfeit about $25,000 confiscated at the time of his arrest.

Nguyen, 40, was indicted in January after allegedly arranging to receive two 300-pound shipments of marijuana in 2010, according to one federal affidavit.

On two occasions, Nguyen arranged to have a tractor trailer loaded with 300 pounds of marijuana in a secret compartment travel across the border in Lewiston, NY -- just north of Niagara Falls --and eventually to Medford, the affidavit said.

The marijuana was stowed in vaccum-packed bags hidden in a false floor that spanned the entire trailer, the affidavit said. The trucks were registered to Parminder Sindhu, a Canadian man who also faces charges.

The case against Nguyen began in May 2011, when two individuals involved in the conspiracy were arrested and agreed to cooperate with authorities in building a case against Nguyen, according to the affidavit.

Nguyen is free on $100,000 cash, $200,000 bond bail, on condition that he wear a GPS tracker and not leave his home. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October in U.S. District Court of Western New York, according to a court docket.

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