Xisen Guo, 68, pleaded guilty Jan. 14 to federal drug trafficking charges, becoming the first individual in Maine to do so as the result of an investigation into a massive rural drug trafficking operation linked to Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations.
Guo, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, was arrested at 549 Main Road in Passadumkeag during a raid that uncovered an unlicensed marijuana cultivation operation. While his guilty plea pertains solely to illegal marijuana trafficking at that location, court records reveal much more information than has previously been reported, including what appears to be an act of kidnapping as well as Guo’s ties to a much, much broader network of illegal cannabis grows.
Guo’s case has been covered extensively by the national media and the Maine Wire, but what hasn’t received as much attention is how Guo, the property where he was arrested, and evidence found at that property links him to a much, much bigger network of Chinese drug traffickers — including some licensed medicinal caregivers — currently operating in Maine.
Guo’s potential role in a kidnapping scheme has also received very little attention from the media.
The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department reported finding Guanshi Yani, an elderly Chinese migrant, at the property during the raid. The Chinese migrant — described as “illiterate” by the police translator — told a sheriff’s department officer that Guo took him from New York to Maine to labor at the grow site against his will.
Despite the allegations, no one was charged with kidnapping or human trafficking for bringing the Chinese migrant to Maine to work at an illegal cannabis operation, and his whereabouts are currently unknown.
A Network of Properties and Companies
Based on records found at Guo’s illegal marijuana grow, as well as property, tax, and business records, the Maine Wire has linked the New York man to several other properties and shell corporations involved in producing illicit marijuana for Chinese organized crime.
The record trail is complicated and winding, but the pattern points toward Guo being just a small player in a large, sophisticated, and still-active criminal operation in Maine.
The trail begins with the real estate records for the Passadumkeag property where Guo was first arrested.
That property is owned by GC 168 Realty LLC, a company with a registered address at 176 Old Belgrade Road in Augusta. This Augusta property, which serves as the headquarters for GC 168 Realty, is owned by Chen G Realty LLC.
Corporate filings identify the principals of Chen G Realty LLC as Xianmin Chen and Ricky Wong, both of whom list Brooklyn, New York, addresses. Chen is also the principal for GC 168 Realty LLC.
This Augusta property sits at the center of the operation but does not appear to be an illegal marijuana growing operation. It is, though, among the 270 properties the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has flagged over ties to what it calls Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations, according to a copy of that list obtained by the Maine Wire.
Other properties linked to Guo through court records and the web of shell companies include 73 Stickney Hill Road in Brownville, also owned by GC 168 Realty LLC. The site has shown signs of being another marijuana grow operation. During a visit last winter, mail found at the property listed “Tom” Guo on a utility account. Sharon Horton, a Dover-Foxcroft real estate agent who speaks Mandarin, confirmed selling the home to its current owner, with “Tom” serving as her point of contact. Horton assisted several non-English-speaking workers with arranging electrical upgrades, which led to her being listed as a contact in electrical permit records, she said. In addition, a source familiar with the property reported frequent power outages and transformer damage shortly after Guo took ownership (via GC 168 Realty LLC) of the Brownville property.
According to the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy, the site is not licensed for medicinal or adult-use cannabis cultivation.
Records from Guo’s case show that the sheriff’s department also found communications related to 141 Bartlett Road in Sidney at the Passadumkeag raid that ensnared the former resident of China. That property is owned by another shell company, 238 Best Realty LLC, which is registered to Aibao Chen of Bangor. Electrical records show a 400-amp service installation at the Sidney property in January 2022 for equipment consistent with a marijuana grow, with Chen serving as the point of contact for the permit. The same Aibao Chen also facilitated a 400-amp electrical upgrade at the Brownville property owned by GC 168 Realty LLC.
The rabbit hole goes deeper still, because Chen doesn’t call either the Brownville property or the Sidney property home. In tax records, Chen listed 110 Palm Street in Bangor as their address when paying property taxes for 141 Bartlett Road. The 110 Palm Street property in Bangor was sold in July 2023 by Yu “Betty” W. Cen to Xufei “Anny” Jun, a Chinese-born real estate agent. The warranty deed for that transaction was notarized at the U.S. Consulate General in Guangzhou, China.
According to court records, that’s not the only tie between Guo’s operation and the People’s Republic of China.
At the scene of the crime in Passadumkeag, the sheriff’s department uncovered financial records showing payments between Guo and an individual in Hong Kong. According to the records, those payments were directed to Ka Wing Chiu of Hong Kong Island. It’s unclear why Guo who be sending money back to Hong Kong.
Before Guo established his front companies in Maine, he appears to have formed similarly named real estate holding companies in Washington State, another state that has struggled to rein in illicit Chinese marijuana grows.
Corporate records show that Guo formed Guo Realty LLC in Aug. 2018 in Maine, just months after disbanding G and M Realty LLC in Washington. Those records show Guo’s co-director on the paperwork for the Washington shell corp was Fanny Mui. Fanny Mui just happens to be one of the first directors of Chen Realty LLC, the shell corp that owns the networks headquarters in Augusta.
Despite the evidence pointing toward Guo’s involvement in a much bigger drug trafficking operation, no other individuals have been arrested as part of law enforcement’s investigation into Guo.
He is currently out on bail pending the scheduling of his sentencing hearing.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="34114 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=34114">7 Comments
Invest in deportation and deliver US citizens from taxation slavery, CCP poisonous cannabis, murderous time and injustice for all!
The State should just stop growing and selling Pot!!
Is Quo an anchor baby???? that took a big gamble….?
Perhaps this is because they have good representation. I seem to recall reading here that Governess Mills’s Brother has worked with at least one of these “grows”.
“Despite the evidence pointing toward Guo’s involvement in a much bigger drug trafficking operation, no other individuals have been arrested.”
Thank you, Steve, for keeping us informed.
What would the Chinese do if it was a similar situation but with Americans in China?