A Chinese national accused of illegally growing marijuana in Norridgewock last month previously told police she liked the smell and that the plants were her babies.
Jiamin Liao, 29, is charged with two felony counts of maintaining a marijuana-involved premise in U.S. District Court of Maine in Bangor. She was arrested Aug. 27.
Police seized roughly 600 marijuana plants and 20 pounds of processed cannabis at two properties Liao owns in Madison and Norridgewock during a March raid. In Norridgewock, Liao was questioned in a Somerset County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle after she was read her Miranda rights, according to court records.
Liao’s charges come during an ongoing crackdown by the federal government on illegal marijuana grow houses across the state. Money from the large-scale illegal grows are connected to Chinese organized crime, a leaked memo from the federal government said in August 2023.
New details about what Liao allegedly told police were revealed in a search warrant application for 38 SIM cards and four thumb drives police found at the Norridgewock home. The warrant was submitted under seal in federal court May 30. Data were extracted in June and the application was unsealed Sept. 12.
During the interview, which was audio recorded, Liao told police she was fixing up the Norridgewock property for herself and kept marijuana in the house that was grown at her Madison property. Her family gave her money to buy both properties, she told police.
Processed marijuana was stored in 1-pound bags in her closet, Liao told police. During the interview she said did not sell the marijuana, but instead kept it in her house because she liked the way it smelled, according to court records.
Liao also described the marijuana plants as “like my babies” during the interview.
The federal government is looking to seize the Norridgewock house through civil forfeiture, a process where the U.S. attorney must prove in court there is a “preponderance of evidence” the property is linked to criminal activity. There are ongoing proceedings against five other similar properties in Maine.
Liao was released on a $5,000 bond while her case is pending.
