The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office on Friday raided yet another illegal cannabis growing operation — this time on South Road in the town of Harmony.
“At the time of the search, no individuals were located at the residence,” the Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said in a press release.
[RELATED: Triad Weed: How Chinese Marijuana Grows Took Over Rural Maine…]
“In all, 1,277 growing marijuana plants, 25 pounds of processed marijuana and drug related documentation and drug related paraphernalia was seized,” Lancaster said.
The press release indicated that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and federal Drug Enforcement Agency were involved in the operation.
The property in question was purchased in Dec. 2020 by Nai Wen Zhao, who provided an address in Lewiston for the warranty deed.
Between late January, 2024 and May 10, 2024, the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Division has obtained and executed 15 drug search warrants for residences where illegal marijuana plant cultivation activities were taking place.
The search warrants have been executed in the towns of Ripley, Harmony, Skowhegan, Madison, Norridgewock, Mercer, and Solon.
“In all, over 400 pounds of processed marijuana and over 18,000 marijuana plants have been seized, and 8 individuals have been arrested and charged with felony level Trafficking in Scheduled Drugs and felony level Cultivation of Marijuana,” the sheriff said.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="27910 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=27910">3 Comments
Thank you The Maine Wire for taking an interest and tirelessly reporting on this subject . Thank you Somerset law enforcement personnel for doing what you can to close these illegal operations down in our county
Will the chinese be deported or will we have to pay for their room and board if convicted?
I occasionally watch the local ABC affiliate news media. They actually reported this yesterday morning!! I was shocked. I would like to see the Wire put out a story on how long our derelict Maine-stream media ignored this story. Many thanks to Steve and the Maine Wire.