Miami man pleads guilty to importing illegal drug ‘bath salts’ from China

A Miami man pleaded guilty this week to coordinating with a Chinese distributor to import illegal “bath salts” into the U.S. for sale in the Miami area from 2022 to 2025.

Terrell Jermaine Williams, 40, communicated with his Chinese connection over the messaging app WhatsApp to order n-isopropyl butylone, a type of synthetic cathinone that is known as “bath salts,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said Wednesday. Bath salts are a stimulant meant to mimic the effects of other drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy and meth.

Williams pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to import the drug into the U.S. and conspiracy to possess the drug with the intent to distribute. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each charge, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Bath salts can be sniffed, snorted, smoked or shot up, and can cause euphoria, alertness, confusion, combativeness, aggression, paranoia, hallucinations, violent behavior and psychosis, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

During their conspiracy, the unnamed Chinese party in the scheme told Williams to stock up before bath salts were banned in China.

The person also urged Williams to be more cautious during the 2024 elections due to the possibility of increased scrutiny of guns and drugs getting into the U.S. from China, the Justice Department said.

The U.S. investigation eventually led the Homeland Security Investigations office in Guangzhou, China, to coordinate with Chinese authorities to stop the scheme.

In September 2025, the Chinese Anti-Smuggling Bureau seized more than 1,500 pounds of the bath salts believed to be intended for shipment to the U.S., the attorney’s office said.