The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two more individuals in relation to a series of raids it carried out last month targeting several of the more than 270 illegal, Chinese-owned marijuana trafficking sites in Maine.
Xaingming Ye, a 62-year-old Asian male with previous addresses in Brooklyn, and Hongxia Kuang, a 51-year-old Asian female with a previous address in Brooklyn, were arrested, respectively, on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2.
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Both have been charged with Class B felonies for unlawfully cultivating marijuana.
Ye was on the lam for two weeks following the initial raids at 34 Clover Lane in Whitefield.
According to the LCSO, Ye implicated Kuang in the operation, which resulted in her arrest the following day.
According to real estate records, Kuang is the owner of the property.
According to the records, Kuang purchased the property in Aug. 2021 using a mortgage from Quontic Bank — a mortgage originated by Ying-Chan Weng.
Since 2020, Quontic Bank, and Weng in particular, have originated mortgages for dozens of properties throughout northern Maine for Chinese men and women from out-of-state, properties that also appear to be operating as unlicensed marijuana cultivation sites.
Both Ye and Kuang were discovered returning to the Clover Lane property, which LCSO continued to monitor in the weeks and days following the raid.
The Clover Lane property was originally disrupted by law enforcement as part of a series of raids in Whitefield, Jefferson, and Chelsear.
Six individuals were arrested in connection those raids:
- Weihuan Liu, 41, of Brooklyn, NY: Arrested during the raid of 91 Jefferson Road. More than 700 plants and 40 lbs of processed marijuana seized.
- Huan Ying Li, 57, formerly of NYC. Arrested during the raid of 333 North Howe Road, Whitefield. Nearly 30 pounds of processed marijuana seized. According to Lincoln County property records, Li purchased the property in November 2019.
- Zhen Zhong Chen, 45, the property owner of 170 Rockland Road, Jefferson, was arrested at his residence after the seizure of 820 plants.
- Ming Da Li, 41, of Brooklyn, NY, arrested at 754 Cooper Road, Chelsea, after the seizure of nearly 900 plants. According to property records, the residence was purchased Aug. 2020 by Xinqiao Huang of Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Wan Ting Xiao, 50, of San Gabriel, Ca., arrested at 19 Abby Lane, Whitefield, after the seizure of 2,294 plants and 40 pounds of processed marijuana.
- Ding Zhan Liao, 49, of Brooklyn, NY., also arrested at 19 Abby Lane.
