Last week saw more illegal Chinese marijuana grow sites being busted in Somerset and Franklin Counties.
Somerset Sheriff Dale Lancaster continued his crusade against the Chinese weed operations in his county with a bust in Ripley which followed shortly after a large bust in Harmony.
[RELATED: BREAKING: Somerset County Sheriff, DEA Bust Major Triad Weed Hub in Harmony, Maine…]
“These investigations are complicated, and they have been months in development,” said Sheriff Lancaster, “There appears to be a pattern of operations at each one of these locations.”
On April 17, one day after a major bust in Harmony which led to the seizure of 3,400 plants and the arrest of one man, Dongming Liao, the Somerset Sheriff’s Department made another bust on Ellms Rd. in Ripley.
Police discovered that the residence had been renovated to allow for the needs of a massive illegal marijuana cultivation operation.
Law enforcement seized 1,100 marijuana plants, along with 100 lbs of cultivated marijuana.
They also found drug paraphernalia, but did not make any arrests, as the property was empty at the time of the raid.
On the same day, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, along with the U.S. Border Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) raided a farmhouse on Route 133 in Jay.
Law enforcement did not reveal the exact address of the farmhouse, nor did they specify how much marijuana was seized.
Authorities did, however, refer to the farmhouse as a “massive marijuana grow” along with providing a picture of the interior of the house.
No one was discovered in the house at the time of the raid.
Although sheriff’s departments have been raiding Chinese weed farms across the state, hundreds of locations remain in operation, and many criminals involved in the enterprise remain at large.
In many cases, the Chinese nationals arrested in connection with the grow sites are released when their colleagues pay the relatively low cash bails set for their release.
The criminals then fail to appear for their court dates and are free to return to their illegal activities.
Currently, only one person has faced federal charges in connection with the illegal operation which has infiltrated rural Maine.
[RELATED: TRIAD WEED: First Chinese National Faces Federal Charges for Weed Operation in Maine…]
67-year-old Xisen Gou, arrested during a February raid on a grow site in Passadumkeag, is currently being held without bail and faces federal drug trafficking charges.
Awesome…..only like 500 to go…….
Mills must be pissed. All her cheap weed places are being closed. i wonder if she’s growing any at the Blaine House. Most of the time she looks stoned.
are these properties being seized
It’s not as if these growers don’t stick out like a sore thumb in these small hamlets of Maine. As the saying goes, ‘see something? Say something.’
Bob I would love to know the answer also and what happen to the bank loan and the fed’s role. You would think our four in DC would have answers other than “Orange man” Or has dark money behind the told then not to speak–Soroes.
So, it’s obvious that the state government (demonrats) don’t want to rock their under the table paychecks. And the state police seem happy to follow along drinking coffee and sitting on the highways busting people that are trying to go to work! I believe the law is the law to ALL law enforcement, not just the sheriff’s department! Time for the people to ask the hard questions of all police departments state wide!
Let’s not racially-profile now!! That would entail common sense and obviousness — which is antithetical to the new “world of make-believe Maine” within which all Democrats live …and to which the Democrats want the rest of us to capitulate. Today’s U.S. is the real-life “Emporer’s New Clothes” story where we all have to pretend that certain things are true or real— or else we’re considered idiots! Things like:
(1) Diversity is our Strength! (Never been true over the entire history of the world)
(2) Judges are impartial and NOT politically motivated! (Blatantly False)
(3) President Biden is NOT senile. (Uhuh)
(4) Men and Women are not different! (Uhuh)
Getting really tired of hearing lies being spewed as truths. Anyone else?
So many places where raids are taking place and Marijuana plants being seized, but never any occupants there. Wondering if the occupants, whoever they are, are being notified when a raid is taking place.