- Law enforcement officers discovered an illegal extortion operation in rural Maine, resulting in the seizure of approximately 40 pounds of marijuana.
- The US DEA is investigating international criminal organizations operating illegally in nearly 20 states, including Maine.
- There are approximately 100 illegal developments in Maine, with approximately 40 search warrants issued since June.
One home’s high electricity consumption, its cardboard-covered windows and the smell of marijuana drew the attention of law enforcement to the offbeat illegal growth operation. in rural maine,
The bust of the home with the hidden grow operation and the seizure of nearly 40 pounds of processed marijuana is the latest example of what authorities describe as a years-long trend of foreign nationals to take advantage of U.S. state laws, including recreational or The production of cannabis for medical use is legal. Marijuana for illegal markets in America
US Drug Enforcement Administration Attorney Garland Merrick Garland told the Senate Appropriations Committee this week in response to a question raised by Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine that nearly 20 states, including Maine, are being investigated for international criminal organizations involved in illegal marijuana growing.
Federal law enforcement officials said there are currently about 100 illegal grow operations in Maine, such as the one in Passadumkeag, about 60 miles north of Bangor, and about 40 search warrants have been issued since June.
This photo shows the seizure of 40 pounds of processed marijuana from a hidden grow operation by a Chinese national in Maine. Court files sealed this week with the arrest of the alleged operator set for April 19, 2024 detail how Zisen Guo, a Chinese man, came to Maine to convert a rural home into a high-tech, illegal development operation. Documents included. (Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
In Pasadumkeag, Xisen Guo, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, is accused of converting the home into a high-tech, illegal development operation, according to court documents unsealed this week.
He was ordered held without bail Friday on federal drug charges, making him the first person to be federally charged in such a case in Maine. A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday.
The Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Homeland Security are working closely with the FBI and DEA and local law enforcement to get to the bottom of illegal grow operations in Maine, Garland said.
The state has legalized adult consumption of marijuana, but growers must be licensed by the state. According to court documents, the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy said Guo was running an unlicensed operation.
Illegal farming began several years ago across America. In 2018, US authorities arrested a Seattle woman, conducted a raid and seized thousands of marijuana plants while investigating an operation with Chinese ties. Oklahoma officials discovered that straw owners were running illegal operations in China and Mexico after the state legalized marijuana for medical purposes in 2018.
The legality of marijuana consumption and cultivation in those states provides cover for illegal grow operations, which may attract less attention, officials said. The marijuana is then smuggled into states where it is illegal.
In Maine, U.S. Attorney Darcy McElwee said that disrupting illicit growing operations with international connections is a priority for law enforcement, “and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal as appropriate in this effort.”
Law enforcement officers know the telltale signs.
Police focused on the pasadumkeg operation in part because of deputies’ review of the home’s utility bills. After the home was purchased for $125,000 in cash, electricity usage increased from about $300 per month to nearly $9,000, according to court documents.
This is consistent with the heat pumps, expensive lights and other gear needed to grow marijuana, investigators said. According to documents, the home’s owner, a limited liability company, made upgrades to double the electrical capacity found in a typical Maine home.
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Guo’s lawyer did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press. Two other people who were at the home at the time of the police raid in February were released and not charged.
McElwee said Law enforcement — from local and county police to the FBI and DEA — are beginning to move forward with “dozens of operations” that were shut down over the past several months.
He said, “The potential involvement of foreign nationals using Maine properties to profit from unlicensed marijuana operations and interstate distribution makes it clear that a strong and sustained federal, state and local effort is needed to shut down these operations.” Needed.”
He said law enforcement officials are also investigating who is directing the operations and where the profits are going.
