A large number of Maine law enforcement officers executed a search warrant Monday morning at a location in Freedom, the Maine Wire has learned.
The property is thought to be connected to the network of Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (Asian TCOs) that are growing and trafficking black market cannabis in Maine.
[RELATED: Triad Weed: How Chinese Marijuana Grows Took Over Rural Maine…]
The 555 Belfast Road property raided Monday was purchased in Dec. 2021 by Austin Zhen, 33, of Brooklyn, New York. Zhen used a mortgage from Quontic Bank, a New York-based Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI).
In a statement, the Waldo County Sheriff’s Department said they were joined in the enforcement action by the Maine State Police Tactical Team.
The raid resulted in the seizure of more than 1,900 live cannabis plants, but no arrests.
According to state records, the property received a permit for commercial-grade electricity in December under the electricians license of J. Martin Vachon.
Vachon has previously told the Maine Wire that he lives with Chinese marijuana grows and works for them in exchange for lodging.
The information supplied by Vachon as part of the permitting process indicates that the location was a cannabis cultivation facility.
State records show that Vachon’s electrical license has been used dozens of times over the past four years to secure commercial-grade electricity at properties all over Maine, including other properties that have been the subject of police raids.
Although the possession and use of marijuana remains legal throughout Maine, the town of Freedom has yet to pass local ordinances allowing for the sale or large-scale cultivation of the drug.
The raids are among the more than forty large-scale marijuana cultivation and trafficking operations that have been disrupted since the Maine Wire began the “Triad Weed” investigative series.
Last week, U.S. Attorney for Maine Darcie McElwee announced via court filings that the Department of Justice is moving to seize four properties that were the subject of search warrants executed late last year and earlier this year.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="27871 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=27871">1 Comment
I was wondering if the raid I heard about this morning on the radio was reported in the Maine Wire and here it is! It looks like maybe all your hard work is beginning to pay off! Good work guys!