A months-long investigation culminated in a drug raid at a residence on Mercer Road Friday morning, resulting in the arrest of a 55-year-old man, described in a press release as a “Norridgewock man.”
The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Division executed a search warrant at approximately 9:49 a.m, according to the press release.
The Sheriff’s Office said the operation, led by Detective Lieutenant Carl Gottardi II, involved multiple agencies, including detectives from the Waterville Police Department, agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and investigators from the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy.
As with the majority of the enforcement actions taken in Somerset County, the Maine State Police and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency were notably absent from the list of organizations assisting with the raid.
However, the Somerset and Kennebec County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office assisted in the investigation, according to the press release.
Upon executing the search warrant, law enforcement officers discovered over 230 mature marijuana plants, several pounds of processed marijuana, a 2019 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, and various drug-related paraphernalia and documentation.
[RELATED: No Arrests as Illicit Chinese Marijuana Grow in Norridgewock Busted…]
The sole occupant of the residence, Yibin Zhao, was taken into custody.
Zhao has been charged with Cultivation of Marijuana (Class C, over 100 plants) and Trafficking in Scheduled Drugs (Class C, over one pound of marijuana). Additional charges may be filed pending further review by the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office.
[RELATED: Somerset Sheriff Raids Illegal Cannabis Grow in Harmony House: Triad Weed…]
Zhao is being held at the Somerset County Jail with bail set at $25,000.
Special conditions of his bail include a prohibition on the use or possession of illegal drugs and submission to random searches and drug testing.
If Zhao secures bail, his initial court appearance is scheduled for September 4, 2024, at the Somerset County Unified Criminal Court.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="28065 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=28065">6 Comments
Anyone want to take a guess as to whether he’ll show up for his September court appearance if he is bailed out? My guess is he’ll be long gone. At least taxpayers won’t have to pay for his room, board, cable bill and medical care if he does.
At least the bail is getting better.
Speaking of bail how did our 3 shooters from Saco make out in a Portland court?
“Norridgewock citizen,” Yibin Zhao, definitely NOT a native tax-paying Mainer, arrested for illegal cannabis grow WITHOUT the assistance of the Maine State Police or the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. Mainers have to wonder whether these two agencies have been ordered to stand down by the Mills’ worker bees, or the queen bee herself, to protect the huge sale of land to Chinese by her brother.
Again the Mills’ policy of ‘lying by omission’ is demonstrated by the arrest of this obviously non-Mainer with no mention of immigration status. This pattern is a concerted effort between Augusta and Maine media outlets to give a false sense of safety to tax paying Mainers regarding the ‘stellar’ immigrants crashing our borders as part of Mills’ “Office of New Americans.”
Many thanks to the Maine Wire for shining a light on the illegal chinese marijuana grows, and on the Sheriffs who have been doing their due diligence to protect Mainers from this rampant criminality.
Mainers need to wake up and take notice in the upcoming 2024 elections and show up in droves to vote for common sense, honorable men and women. Without that, life as we have known it, will be lost to our children and grand children!
Chris you forgot Dental care, mental health and collage tuition bill.
Yibin Zhao, born on the Mercer Road in Norridgewock. His parents Denise and Chuck Zhao, gave young Yibin their house when they relocated to Florida in order to grow pot year round. Yibin was a proud valedictorian of Skowhegan High School class of 2001.