Boise Woman Admits Importing alpha-PHP
An Idaho woman admitted that she attempted to import bath salts from the Netherlands to the United States.
Jennifer Niemann, 34, of Boise, Idaho, pleaded guilty to one count of importation of a controlled substance in August 2021.
Court records revealed that the United States Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted a suspicious incoming package at the International Mail Facility in San Francisco on an undisclosed date. The package had originated in the Netherlands and was addressed to Niemann. Investigators opened the package and found an undisclosed quantity of α-PHP (alpha-PHP).
Investigations carried out by Homeland Security Investigations agents and Postal Inspectors with the United States Postal Inspection Service resulted in the arrest and questioning of Niemann on July 1, 2019. Niemann told investigators that she had purchased the alpha-PHP from an undisclosed vendor using Bitcoin.
A federal grand jury in Boise indicted Niemann on April 14, 2021. She will be sentenced on October 20, 2021, by Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye. Niemann faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, a one million dollar fine, and at least three years of supervised release. Her actual sentence will likely be far under the statutory maximum penalties.