Personal Injury Attorney in Sumter, SC.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Three suspects in Sumter County and one in Richland County are charged with money laundering for cartels after a years-long investigation by multiple agencies.

In Sumter County, Caspin Powers Adachi, 23, Fnu Naimullah, 32, and Nasir Ullah, 27, were arrested on Jan. 23, following arrest warrants issued on January 14.

Law enforcement did not name the person in Richland County.

On Jan. 23, authorities from multiple agencies served search warrants for money laundering at two businesses on Broad Street and houses on Rhododendron Street and Currituck Drive. These buildings were said to have been used by Powers Adachi, Naimullah, and Ullah.

According to authorities, another suspect was arrested at the same time in Richland County for money laundering charges with assistance from the DEA, SLED, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

SLED, Sumter County Sherriff’s Office (SCSO), and DEA Special Agents also charged Chinese national Puquan Huang, who was arrested in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and will be extradited to South Carolina.

The arrests come after a multi-year investigation by the DEA, with assistance from federal, state, and local authorities. Deputies say the investigation led to Sumter and concluded with the arrests of four suspects with the aid of SCSO. This investigation focused on international and domestic money laundering for Mexico’s two dominant drug cartels – the Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CING) and the Sinaloa Cartel.

Investigators believe the suspects worked directly with cartel-affiliated Chinese money launderers operating in both Georgia and South Carolina and had been doing so for multiple years.

Authorities confirm Ullah will face additional charges in Richland County after being arrested in October 2024 while smuggling about $180,000. Ullah and Naimullah’s father, Mohammad Azam Khan, remains an active fugitive and is believed to be in Dubai.

Deputies transported Adachi, Naimullah, and Ullah to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center. Following bond hearings, Adachi and Ullah posted $20,000 surety bonds, and Naimullah posted a $200,000.00 bond. All three suspects were released, according to authorities.

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This is the third column in a series commemorating Sunshine Week.

Last October, reporters Tony Bartelme and Seth Taylor teamed up on a project that pulled back the camouflage on a taxpayer-funded welcome center in Sumter that essentially doubled as a hunting retreat for local officials and their friends.

The city built the center as part of an ongoing effort to preserve land around Shaw Air Force Base. But public records obtained by the reporters revealed how the property also served as a hunting hideaway.

To contribute, please go to postandcourierfund.com.

You can also send a check to the Spartanburg County Foundation, 424 E Kennedy Street, Spartanburg, SC 29302, and write “Post and Courier Investigative Fund” in the subject line.

The Post and Courier worked for months to obtain the records and had to pay more than $1,000 before the city of Sumter would comply with our request under the state's Freedom of Information Act request. The city maintained that retrieving the documents was expensive and time-consuming.

To build the $3.4 million lodge-like complex, the city relied significantly on state grants. The construction costs included $14,218 for a security camera system at the gate and a $10,301 conference room table made from 3.5-inch thick cypress. The city also built a three-bedroom house for a property manager to use on site, and planned to spend an additional $4.7 million — from a state Veterans Affairs grant — to renovate an old barn to accommodate larger groups.

Below, Tony and Seth take us through the investigation and their use of the public records law, FOIA, to obtain key documents.

What led you to this story?

Tony: As with so many of our Uncovered stories, this one began with a tip. A resident in Sumter with knowledge of what was going on told the gist of the story. If the source was correct, the story highlighted how public officials were using their positions of privilege to make their lives a little more privileged.

That's my North Star when it comes to choosing to investigate a tip. But we also keep firmly in mind that tips are not evidence. It's just the beginning of an investigation, and documents are key.

What obstacles, if any, did you encounter?

Tony: Our biggest obstacles were, in no particular order, the city of Sumter and its officials; the county of Sumter and its officials; and the Air Force, which wasn't as obstructionist as the local officials but was still slow to respond.

Our first goal was to get a handle on the project and its chronology. I prefer to talk to people rather than hit them with FOIA requests. We tried that route, and city and county officials ignored us or declined to answer our questions in any kind of depth.

Note to officials: If you want to add some fuel to a reporter's furnace, ignore them.

What records did you pursue?

We sought records describing the project's construction and spending from the city and county of Sumter, including emails about it. We sought hunting records from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. We requested grant records from the S.C. Department of Veterans' Affairs, and we requested usage records from the U.S. Air Force.

Were the records easy or difficult to obtain?

The state agencies were very easy to work with, and I have no real complaint about the Air Force. Sumter County eventually coughed up its records, but the city of Sumter delayed responding until the last day of the FOIA law's deadlines, and when we tried to narrow our request to speed up the process, they slow-walked their responses, adding even more delays.

When we finally agreed on a narrower selection of documents, they demanded $1,098 to get them. They cited the cost of searching for the documents, using a very highly paid employee, which we believe violated the law. The law mandates that fees be based on the lowest-paid employee capable of fulfilling the request. Five months passed from the time we asked for the documents and the time we finally got them.

What did the documents reveal?

Seth: The records revealed the extent to which taxpayer dollars were used to fund the hideaway used almost exclusively by local officials. Despite millions of state and local dollars being used to construct the welcome center, public access was severely limited.

Hidden in the pile of documents we received were little details that hinted at how the property was being used. DNR records showed that local officials and base personnel used the site for hunting. Purchase records showed how the building was furnished — a $10,301 table made of ancient cypress, for example.

Also notable is what the lack of records revealed: little oversite or recordkeeping. The center doesn't keep rosters of who hunted there or liability waivers. A calendar of events contained little to no detailed information. With these records, we could begin to piece together what truly happens at the Shaw-Sumter Farm.

Would the story have come to light without pressing for open government and/or records?

Seth: There's no way we could have produced this story without the records requests we filed. Asking for information — repeatedly — proved fruitless. City leaders ignored our calls or declined to speak with us. They refused to provide us with basic information or even open the facility for a tour. Only with the help of the law and a hefty dose of perseverance could we begin to gain a peek, albeit a small one, behind the curtain.

Read Monday's column: After we dug into a North Charleston program, the FBI swept in

Read Sunday's column: Join The Post and Courier in celebrating journalism dedicated to the public interest