Lewisville man, Michigan woman indicted in the Eastern District of Texas for synthetic drug scheme

TYLER, Texas - A man and woman have been indicted for a drug trafficking scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Adell Willis, 43, of Lewisville, and Judy Ly, 30, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, were named in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury this week in the Eastern District of Texas. Willis and Ly were charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute synthetic drugs and conspiracy to possess contraband in prison. Ly was also charged with possession of synthetic drugs with intent to distribute.

The indictment alleges that beginning in March 2023, Willis and Ly conspired to possess synthetic opioids, synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic stimulants, and other controlled analogues, in correctional institutions. It is alleged in the indictment that Willis purchased synthetic drugs from China and had them shipped to his residence in the Eastern District of Texas and Ly's residence in Michigan. It is also alleged that once Willis and Ly received the synthetic drugs, they would convert the drugs to a liquid before soaking sheets of paper in the drug mixture. Once the sheets of paper were saturated, they were then delivered to inmates at various federal and state correctional institutions across the country.

If convicted, Willis and Ly could face up to 20 years in federal prison.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.

A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.