Driver gets five years after Florida van search finds 597 pounds of marijuana
Federal prosecutors announced a five-year prison sentence for Henglie Zhou, 31, on 30 June 2026. A 2024 Florida traffic stop had found about 597 pounds of marijuana in the rental van he was driving.
Henglie Zhou, 31, a Chinese national, was sentenced to five years in federal
prison for possessing at least 100 kilograms of marijuana with intent to
distribute it.[1][2]Prosecutors announced the sentence in Jacksonville on
30 June 2026.[1]U.S. District Judge Jordan E. Pratt imposed the term after
Zhou pleaded guilty on 5 March 2026.[1][2]
The case followed a Florida Highway Patrol traffic stop on 7 October 2024,
during an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.[1][2]Zhou was the van’s only occupant.[1][2]After a police dog alerted,
officers found 22 cardboard boxes containing vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana.[1][2]Prosecutors put the total at approximately 597 pounds, or 271
kilograms.[1][2]
Zhou initially denied knowing marijuana was inside the rented van and said
he did not know who had rented it.[1][2]Investigators said rental records
showed he had rented it that day and had made 11 earlier cargo-van rentals
in Jacksonville between March and September 2024.[1][2]Those rentals each
lasted one or two days.[1][2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Tampa Free Presstampafp.com600 Pounds Of Weed In A Florida Rental Van Lands Chinese Driver 5 Years In Federal Prison
Open questions the AI reported
The official release gives no separate sentencing date; this report uses its announcement date of 30 June 2026.
The sources do not identify the road or municipality where the 2024 traffic stop occurred; the map marks Jacksonville, where the federal case was announced.
No supervised-release term, fine or appeal decision was reported.
The release also names eight defendants in related proceedings; their individual cases are outside this report.
The opened coverage provides no photograph identified as showing Zhou's stop, seizure or sentencing; Tampa Free Press uses file illustrations.
A federal court sentenced Christopher L. Daniels, 47, of Tallahassee, Florida, to 25 years in prison after a jury convicted him of possessing controlled substances with intent to distribute and possessing a firearm as a felon. A January 2026 search of his home seized a pound (about 0.45 kg) of marijuana alongside methamphetamine, cocaine, crack cocaine, synthetic cathinones and four pistols.
Nigel White was sentenced in Brown County court to 18 years in prison plus 10 years of extended supervision for his role in the August 2024 marijuana deal on Berner Street where Brandon Ramirez was shot dead. White, one of five people charged, had pleaded no contest to felony murder; prosecutors said he drove a getaway vehicle.
Charged 5Sentenced 1Prison 18 years initial confinement and 10 years extended supervisionDeaths 1
A federal judge sentenced Christopher S. Robinson, 31, of Springfield to 15 years in prison for possessing methamphetamine and fentanyl for distribution, a case that began with a May 2024 raid in Jacksonville. Police reported finding 1.8 pounds of cannabis there and charged him with felony cannabis possession with intent to deliver.
Six traffickers were sentenced on 4 November 2026 in the Northern District of West Virginia to a combined 37 years in federal prison for fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking. Officers seized about 68.15 kilograms of marijuana in two of the cases, including 150 pounds at a Keyser duplex, alongside fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.
