Maine authorities raided three more illegal marijuana operations on Tuesday. Police have reportedly busted a total of seven in the last month in central Maine.
Two of the locations searched on Tuesday were in Whitefield and the other in Chelsea.
Also read: 3 arrested after police seize hundreds of plants in illegal Maine marijuana bust
On Jan. 17., police raided homes two homes in Whitefield and a location in Jefferson. Police also searched another home in Whitefield on Jan. 10.
Several arrests were made but officials say one suspect did flee the area.
This is the latest in a series of raids after Maine’s congressional delegation recently made calls for the Justice Department to “crack down” on illegal Chinese-run marijuana operations, which they say are worth close to $4.5 billion and includes 270 suspected properties.
“We write to follow-up to our August 23, 2023, letter regarding reports of a memo that was produced and circulated by Border Patrol officials over alleged illegal Chinese marijuana growing operations in the state of Maine. Since that time, there have been multiple raids across the state; since the beginning of this year, police have arrested eight people and seized more than 4,400 cannabis plants at four growing sites in Belgrade, China, and Cornville, Maine,” the delegation said.
In total, authorities have raided seven of these operations in the last month based on information from the U.S. Attorney General’s Office.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office says the following people are sought or have been charged:
Xiangming Yi, 61, is still at large
Weihuan Liu, 41, of Brooklyn, NY
Huan Ying Li, 57, formerly of NYC.
Zhen Zhong Chen, 45.
Ming Da Li, 41, of Brooklyn, NY.
Wan Ting Xiao, 50, of San Gabriel, Ca.
Ding Zhan Liao, 49, of Brooklyn, NY.
H/T: WGME
