Seven people have been charged in connection with what prosecutors describe as a multimillion-dollar illegal marijuana growing, human trafficking and money laundering operation in Maine and Massachusetts.
Six of the men have been arrested, while one has evaded police, according to a spokesperson for the District of Massachusetts branch of the Department of Justice. Those arrested include Jianxiong Chen, 39, of Braintree, Massachusetts.; Yuxiong Wu, 36, of Weymouth, Massachusetts; Dinghui Li, 38, of Braintree, Massachusetts; Dechao Ma, 35, of Braintree, Massachusetts; Peng Lian Zhu, 35, of Melrose, Massachusetts; Hongbin Wu, 35, of Quincy, Massachusetts; and Yanrong Zhu, 47, of Greenfield, Massachusetts and Brooklyn, New York.
Yangrong Zhu has not been taken into custody and is considered a fugitive of the law.
The charges include money laundering conspiracy, money laundering and bringing aliens into the U.S.
Chen, who is suspected of running the conspiracy, is accused of smuggling Chinese nationals across the Mexican border. He also reportedly forced those people to work in the grow houses that he controlled and withheld their passports until he received payment for the smuggling operation.
Chen allegedly controlled several grow houses in Maine along with a residence in Braintree, Massachusetts, which served as a base of operations for the enterprise, prosecutors said.
Charges for all seven men stem from the operation of illegal marijuana grow centers and distribution of marijuana grown at facilities throughout Maine and Massachusetts. The growing operations reportedly started around January of 2020, and included the oversight of grow houses and the distribution of large amounts of marijuana.
The group is also suspected of communicating with other grow house operators, including those who have ties to China, according to the Department of Justice.
Millions of dollars made from the distribution of the marijuana were likely spent on luxury items and real estate intended to be used to expand the growing operations, officials said.
The combined charges carry more than a million dollars in fines, as well as sentences of five to 20 years in prison.
The men’s sentences will be decided by a federal district court judge.
Two years ago, a leaked federal government memo connected illegal marijuana grow houses in Maine to Chinese organized crime. Since then thousands of pounds of marijuana and marijuana plants have been seized from various illegal grow operations in Maine. Most recently, 700 plants were seized from a central Maine grow house.
Throughout 2024, 60 properties across Maine were searched and led to a significant decrease in illegal marijuana grow properties, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Lizotte told the Bangor Daily News in December 2024.
Since the beginning of 2024, police have been active in busting these large operations, which have been found all over rural Maine, including Brownville, Guilford, Milo and Sangerville in Piscataquis County; Corinna, Eddington, Holden and Passadumkeag in Penobscot County; Turner in Androscoggin County; Anson, Canaan, Cornville, Harmony, Madison, Mercer, Norridgewock, Ripley, Skowhegan, Solon and St. Albans in Somerset County; Jay in Franklin County, to Belgrade, China, Chelsea, Farmingdale and Manchester in Kennebec County; Jefferson and Whitefield in Lincoln County; Mexico in Oxford County; Belmont and Freedom in Waldo County; and Parsonsfield in York County.
