U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R) grilled FBI Director Christopher Wray Tuesday over the ties between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chinese organized crime networks in Maine.
“What is the FBI’s theory about why Chinese nationals or Chinese transnational criminal organizations are setting up these illegal marijuana growing operations in states like Maine?” Sen. Collins asked Director Wray.
Wray answered that foreign organized crime networks are likely setting up illicit marijuana cultivation and trafficking operations because it’s lucrative and low-risk.
“[O]ur assessment is that it’s a combination of the fact that it is activity that can be done relatively cheaply, and by comparison to other drugs in the United States, the consequences that they face from a legal perspective are not as severe as that they might be in other countries where they might also want to operate,” Wray said.
Wray said that the FBI is increasingly seeing Chinese organized crime move into tribal lands, as well.
In 2022, Collins was the first Maine official to publicly call for an investigation into Chinese mafia drug trafficking in Maine.
In a letter to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) Director, Collins urged state authorities to investigate the issue.
Despite the more than 40 search warrants that have been executed at properties throughout Maine linked to the criminal networks, the Maine State Police have rarely been involved in the enforcement activities and have refused to comment publicly on the phenomenon.
Likewise, Gov. Janet Mills (D) has remained totally silent, refusing even to comment on her brother, Paul H. Mills, serving as the title transfer attorney on behalf of an illegal marijuana grow now owned by a Chinese national living in China.
Since 2022, Collins has continued to press federal authorities for assistance, including penning two letters to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Collins also solicited and received a comprehensive briefing from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator on the agency’s ongoing efforts to crack down on the illegal drug hubs.
Earlier this year, Collins questioned Garland, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and leaders in the U.S. intelligence community about the potential involvement of the Chinese government in these operations.
According to Wray, the FBI has yet to discover any clear links between the activities of Chinese organized crime in Maine and the government of China.
