Three more New Yorkers have been arrested in Somerset County for illegally growing and trafficking vast amounts of marijuana at a Skowhegan property connected to Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations.
The Somerset County Sheriff’s Department said in a press release Friday that it executed a search warrant on a Waterville Road property in Skowhegan that resulted in the arrests of three individuals from Brooklyn, New York.
- Yao Bin Cheng, age 61, of Brooklyn, New York was arrested and charged with Trafficking in Scheduled Drugs (Class B) and Cultivation of Marijuana (Class B).
- Ying Xia Liao, age 59, of Brooklyn, New York was arrested and charged with Trafficking in Scheduled Drugs (Class B) and Cultivation of Marijuana (Class B).
- Xi Qiang Zhao, age 56, of Brooklyn, New York was arrested and charged with Trafficking in Scheduled Drugs (Class B) and Cultivation of Marijuana (Class B).
As a result of the search of the residence, 4760 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, over $7,000.00 in suspected illicit drug proceeds, a 2022 Toyota Tacoma truck and illicit drug related articles were seized.
[RELATED: Triad Weed: How Chinese Marijuana Grows Took Over Rural Maine…]
Last year, a leaked Department of Homeland Security memo, first published by reporter Jennie Taer, revealed that Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (a.k.a. the Chinese mafia or Triads) control more than 270 facilities throughout Maine, properties the criminal organizations are using to illegally grow and traffick marijuana.
The proceeds of those marijuana sales, which occur in Maine but mostly in Massachusetts and New York, are then used to further finance other illegal activities, including narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, and other criminal schemes.
According to the Maine Wire’s Triad Weed investigative series, the scheme began in late 2019, when Chinese men and women began purchasing properties throughout rural Maine and later converting them into sophisticated marijuana growing operations.
The operation proliferated through rural Maine as the number of Chinese foreign nationals encountered attempting to illegally enter the U.S. increased to record levels, per DHS data.
Last week, three Chinese foreign nationals were arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents attempting to illegal enter the U.S. from Canada, while a fourth Chinese illegal alien — the getaway driver — was also arrested.
As with several recent enforcement actions taken against illegal Chinese-run marijuana trafficking operations in Somerset County, the Maine State Police and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency were conspicuously absent from the list of law enforcement offices that assisted in the raid.
According to a press release from Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster, the warrant was executed by Sheriff’s Office Detectives and Sheriff’s Office Patrol Deputies. In addition, Detectives from the Waterville Police Department and Agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
According to the press release, the Somerset/Kennebec County District Attorney’s Office, the United States Attorney’s Office and Investigators from the Office of Cannabis Policy assisted with the investigation.
The Skowhegan Code Enforcement Officer and the Skowhegan Fire Department were notified for potential building code violations, according to the release.
Presently the three New Yorkers are incarcerated in the Somerset County Jail on $10,000.00 cash bail each — ten times the amount set for previous suspects arrested at Chinese-run drug hubs in the county.
Their initial appearance is scheduled, in the Somerset County Unified Court, on June 5, 2024.
READ MORE TRIAD WEED REPORTING
- At Rural Maine Marijuana Grow, Cops Find Asian Passports, Plane Tickets from China, and Stolen Electricity
- Sheriffs Raid Multiple Triad Weed Properties Throughout Central, Northern Maine – Guilford, Mercer, Corinna & Sangerville
- Illegal Marijuana Vexes Northern Maine Town Officials as Out-of-State Criminals Prosper
- Maine Sheriff Raids 8th Illegal Chinese-Owned Marijuana Grow in 8 Months
- Valentine’s Day Bust Breaks Heart of New York Man Illegally Growing 1,310 Pot Plants in Norridgewock, Maine
- Maine State Police Bust Cannabis Grow Ops in Belgrade, Seize 2,300 Plants
- Another One: Turner Firefighters Discover Suspected Illegal Chinese Marijuana Grow Near Bear Pond Variety
- No Arrests as Illicit Chinese Marijuana Grow in Norridgewock Busted
- Fifteen Raids Seize Nearly 20k Black Market Cannabis Plants from Chinese-Controlled Sites in Maine
- Maine Law Enforcement Raids Machias Marijuana Grow, Arrests Three Suspected Non-Citizens
- Maine Sheriff Arrests Two More New Yorkers Linked to Illegal Marijuana Operation in Whitefield
- Two Weeks After $1M Western Maine Marijuana Raid, Wilton Still Abuzz With Illicit Drug Activity
- Chinese Nationals Caught Illegally Entering U.S. Reached Record High in December…
- U.S. Border Agents Arrest Three Chinese “Asylum Seekers” with 23 Fake IDs…
