How Wenjian Zhuo’s Own Dashcam Became Evidence in His Federal Drug Case

The pickup

“How many people and how many pieces of luggage?” Zhuo asked the customer, The New Yorker reported. “One person, about six to seven boxes,” the customer wrote. They agreed on $940, including gas and tolls, and the customer sent a $100 deposit, according to the magazine.

On January 22, 2025, Zhuo drove north from Queens to an address on State Route 37 near the Canadian border, The New Yorker reported. Around 2 p.m., a man arrived and loaded “twelve items from a garage into Zhuo’s minivan: cardboard boxes, a suitcase, two bags, and a plastic bin with an orange top.” When Zhuo told him to sit in the front seat, the man said, “No,” and “I am not going,” according to the magazine.

“Evidence presented during the two-day trial proved that on January 22, 2025, Zhuo drove from New York City to the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation where his van was loaded with 94 kilograms (approximately 207 pounds) of marijuana,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

What the dashcam picked up inside the van

The van’s rearview-mirror camera recorded Zhuo talking with the customer and then calling a friend who also drove for a living, The New Yorker reported. “Could it be marijuana in the car?” Zhuo asked. Later in the call he said, “it is O.K. If I am unaware, it’s fine,” the magazine reported.

A Border Patrol vehicle stopped him about 30 minutes after he began driving. Parts of the camera recording were submitted as exhibits at trial.

After the stop

After his arrest, Zhuo offered agents access to his phone and to cameras inside and outside his vehicle, The New Yorker reported. “The video-recording system in Zhuo’s van had captured images of Montour and his truck’s Ontario license plate, allowing law enforcement to identify him,” the magazine reported, referring to Eric Montour, the man who loaded the boxes. Montour “pleaded guilty to possession on November 6th,” it reported.

Zhuo “fully cooperated with authorities,” AsAmNews reported. “He also showed them video recorded in Zhuo’s Sienna of the boxes being loaded into his vehicle.”

The plea offer and trial

Prosecutors dropped a conspiracy charge about a week before the February 11, 2026 pretrial conference, The New Yorker reported. At the conference, a prosecutor said the government had offered Zhuo a misdemeanor plea with time served that wouldn’t lead to his removal from the United States. The prosecutor said Zhuo was turning it down.

Jurors deliberated for about three and a half hours. On February 19, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced his conviction for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

Sentence and appeal

Senior U.S. District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby “also ordered that Zhuo be subject to 3 years of supervised release once released and pay a $5,000 fine,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “The eighteen months he has already spent in jail will count toward his sentence,” The New Yorker reported.

Zhuo’s criminal appeal was opened in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on August 4, 2026, under No. 26-2135, according to the court docket. On September 29, 2026, the court granted his motion to expedite the appeal and denied, without prejudice, a stay pending appeal, the docket shows.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of New York, “Chinese National Found Guilty of Smuggling 207 Pounds of Marijuana into the United States,” February 19, 2026
• U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of New York, “Chinese National Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute 94 Kilograms of Marijuana,” August 24, 2026
• United States of America v. Zhuo, No. 26-2135, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Justia docket)
• The New Yorker, “How a Chinese Immigrant Driver Got Entangled in a Drug Bust”
• The New Yorker, “A Severe Punishment in a Surreal Drug Case”
• AsAmNews, “Rideshare driver gets 27 months for drugs loaded by passenger,” by Randall Yip, July 30, 2026

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