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U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announces new charges in major D.C.-area meth bust
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and federal law enforcement partners announced a superseding indictment adding four high-level defendants to the "Liquid Ice" drug trafficking investigation. Authorities detailed massive seizures, including roughly 200 pounds of methamphetamine and large quantities of the date rape drug GBL imported from South Korea, as task force operations target rising meth distribution networks stretching across Washington, D.C., and the East Coast.
WASHINGTON - Federal prosecutors have unsealed a 12-count superseding indictment charging 15 people in connection with an alleged transnational drug trafficking organization accused of importing and distributing large quantities of methamphetamine and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) across Washington, D.C., and the East Coast.
Timeline:
According to court documents unsealed in U.S. District Court, federal prosecutors allege the multi-layered conspiracy operated from at least November 2022 to the present. Authorities said the conspiracy stretched along the Northeast Corridor from New York City through Philadelphia, Baltimore and D.C., with active efforts to expand into Chicago, Florida and Southern California.
Prosecutors allege the network sourced methamphetamine in California and imported GBL from South Korea, using encrypted messaging apps, coded language, commercial parcel delivery services, stash houses and shell business entities to move the drugs. The indictment also claims the group laundered drug payments through peer-to-peer payment platforms and commercial accounts disguised as legitimate business income.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, GBL is an industrial solvent with legitimate commercial uses such as paint and adhesive removal, but when ingested, the body rapidly converts it into GHB, a potent date-rape drug. Prosecutors allege local distributors sold methamphetamine and GBL together for simultaneous consumption as a party drug combination known on the street as "sexchem."
The Defendants and Seizures:
The superseding indictment adds four newly charged defendants who authorities allege operated as bulk distributors in the region:
- Joseph Micha Macias, 47, of Washington, D.C.
- Jason Andrew Frasher, 52, of Washington, D.C.
- Peter Allan Rothberg, 42, of Washington, D.C.
- Rassoul Amall Martin-Wilson, 40, of Philadelphia, whom prosecutors allege served as a primary source of supply.
All four face federal charges of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture containing methamphetamine and 50 grams or more of pure methamphetamine. Rothberg is also charged with conspiracy to distribute GBL, and Macias, Frasher and Rothberg face additional individual possession with intent to distribute counts.
Eleven other defendants from D.C., Maryland, California, New York and Florida were previously indicted in the spring, and a separate defendant faces related firearms and drug charges by criminal complaint. All 15 indicted defendants face potential mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years to life in prison if convicted.
Federal authorities stated that recent search warrants executed in D.C. and Pennsylvania recovered about 13 pounds of methamphetamine, 1.5 pounds of GBL, ecstasy pills and more than $16,000 in cash.
In aggregate, investigators reported seizing more than 87 kilograms of high-purity methamphetamine, more than 800 kilograms of GBL and 57 kilograms of ketamine across the U.S. investigation. Bilateral efforts with South Korean authorities also led to the seizure of 1.5 metric tons of GBL in Seoul in September 2025.
What's next:
Martin-Wilson was ordered detained pending trial in federal court in Pennsylvania, while Macias, Frasher and Rothberg were scheduled for initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui in D.C. Chief Judge James E. Boasberg is presiding over the broader case.
The Source: This article was written using information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.