Cindy Zheng: Auburn student behind high-tech drug ring that penetrated Fort Benning arrested
AUBURN, ALABAMA: An Auburn University student has been arrested after a weeks-long drug trafficking investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies. Twenty-three-year-old Cindy Zheng was arrested on September 22, 2022, following a raid on her apartment and is charged with drug trafficking and other related charges. Investigation revealed that the woman was using a smartphone app to run a sophisticated and profitable drug business.
The investigation dragged on for several weeks and resulted in a joint operation after the US Army Criminal Investigative Division out of Fort Benning alerted the Lee County Sheriff to drug purchases by military personnel in Auburn. It was later discovered that several types of drugs were being sold in Auburn using a digital application. Officers seized MDMA or ecstasy, marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms, THC wax and oils, pills, digital scales, a money counter, decorative packaging, and jars. Officers also seized approximately $100,000 in US currency.
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Cindy Zheng has been charged with 1 count of drug trafficking, 5 counts of Possession of a controlled substance, and 1 count of drug paraphernalia, according to CenLANow. “It was a sophisticated operation in regard to using cell phones to conduct the transactions and place orders if you will," said Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones. "Customers purchasing the illegal drugs were using an app to place orders. They picked the order up at a particular location, which was pre-packaged based on the order they had placed, said Sheriff Jones.
Sheriff Jones also reported that Cell phone technology was also used for payments as well, according to WKRN.com. On September 22, a search warrant was executed for Cindy Zheng’s condo along Downs Street just off Longleaf Drive in Auburn. The narcotics agents booked Cindy Zheng into the Lee County Detention Center and were released after posting a $60,000 bond. “We always look for angles that may lead us to other involved individuals. However, at this particular time in the investigation, it doesn’t appear she was working for anyone auspiciously, and she was managing this on her own accord,” said Sheriff Jones.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at 334-749-5651 or Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP (7867).