Oklahoma farmers are warning residents about cannabis farms owned by Chinese-backed heavily armed workers using fake Amazon trucks.
Authorities in Oklahoma, Oregon, California, New Mexico and Maine are all grappling with an increase in the number of Chinese marijuana farms, which some believe are linked to criminal gangs known as “triads.”
The spread doesn’t seem to stop. For example, police in Penobscot County, Maine, arrested three Chinese nationals at a marijuana farm in February and seized 40 pounds of the drug and $4,700 in cash.
Authorities in Oklahoma have reportedly closed at least fifteen black market farms a day.
Indigenous local farmers like Larry Williams have been intimidated by stories of Chinese growers arming themselves with AK-47s.
Oklahoma farmers warn residents about cannabis farms owned by Chinese-backed heavily armed workers using fake Amazon trucks
“You see things that you think are suspicious,” said Williams, who grows and harvests with his son Colby. NewsNation senior national correspondent Brian Entin.
There are other signs of illegal grow houses that separate them from those found in Oklahoma.
Some of them have air conditioning units outside the barns, or fencing that none of the other farms have, because many farms are ready to move into after just a few months of construction, Williams claims.
According to the researchers, they also use disguised Amazon trucks and similar Amazon packaging.
The marijuana is sold on the black market to dealers on the East Coast, who profit despite the fact that many East Coast states have legalized recreational cannabis.
The profits are then sent back to mainland China.
‘The Chinese are not stupid. I mean, they recognize it, and they can exploit and direct the behavior of unsuspecting Oklahomans through this cash transaction,” Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond told NewsNation’s On Balance With Leland Vittert.
Governor Kevin Stitt claims the state has removed 6,000 fake homes since 2021, 80 percent of which were linked to China.
Authorities in Oklahoma, Oregon, California, New Mexico and Maine are all battling a surge in Chinese marijuana farms, which some believe are linked to criminal gangs known as “triads.”
According to researchers, black market growers use disguised Amazon trucks and look-alike Amazon packaging
They have tried to contain the problem by raising the costs of joining the state and doing business in that state.
Stitt says they could definitely use more help from federal drug enforcement, but he demands Joe Biden’s help by closing the border.
“You have to tie this back to the border,” Stitt said. ‘Some of this comes via the southern border. We implore the President of the United States to implement some of Trump’s policy to remain in Mexico.”
Earlier this year, a Chinese leader was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to fatally shooting four people during an illegal medical marijuana operation in Oklahoma.
Mexican cartels have long dominated the U.S. illicit pot market, but officials now warn that Chinese funding for such operations is skyrocketing.
It is not known whether the money comes from groups linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but experts point out that triads are generally only allowed to operate if they agree to act as informal “enforcers” for the government.
Last year, a memo from Homeland Security was leaked the daily caller attributes the growth to Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs), with one official raising the possibility of profits being funneled back to Beijing.
Chinese immigrant workers claim they were lured to northern New Mexico under false pretenses and forced to work 14-hour days at an illegal marijuana factory funded by money from a Chinese energy giant, according to a lawsuit filed last year .
Governor Kevin Stitt claims the state has removed 6,000 fake homes since 2021, 80 percent of which were linked to China
One of the indigenous legal growers says the fake grow houses are armed with AK-47s
The operation was shut down by police in 2020, but those behind it stuck to Oklahoma and took many of their employees with them, before that farm was also busted in 2022.
The crackdown in southern and western states has been suggested as one of the reasons for the explosion of marijuana farms in Maine.
For years, Maine residents have spoken out about a wave of marijuana-scented homes popping up across the state, including near daycares and schools.
The Chinese owners, who speak little to no English, have reportedly developed a notorious reputation throughout Maine for spending thousands of dollars on equipment cultivation, namely by demanding stuff from their phones.
Homes identified as part of the vast state apparatus appear to be found in mundane, sleepy suburbs, but are said to plague their neighborhoods as a strong odor of marijuana emanates even from a distance and are equipped with extensive electrical improvements.
Experts estimate that a standard 2,320-square-foot home can produce more than $3 million worth of marijuana annually.
Some of the profits are reportedly sent directly back to China, while some of the ill-gotten gains remain in the US to sustain criminal activity.
According to a Maine Wire investigation of 100 of the identified locations, all have been purchased since marijuana was legalized by single Chinese adults, mostly from New York and Massachusetts.
Governor Stitt claims the state has removed 6,000 fake homes since 2021, 80 percent of which were linked to China
Stitt says they could definitely use more help from federal drug enforcement, but he demands Joe Biden’s help by closing the border
Although the homes are reportedly listed under a single name, many are linked by factors such as car registrations, suggesting they may be linked and controlled by an umbrella organization.
Neighbors say it has become an almost monthly occurrence to see a van with New York or Massachusetts license plates arriving at the pot-filled homes.
In January, authorities in Maine raided an illegal Chinese marijuana business in the aptly named town of China in Kennebec County.
The growing Chinese-owned plants have emerged at a time when the US marijuana industry is skyrocketing, opening up multimillion-dollar revenue streams for many, including the Amish community identified in a DailyMail.com survey last year described.
Nationwide, Homeland Security has reportedly found a total of 749 properties linked to Asian TCOs, indicating that Maine has become a particular hotbed for CCP activity.
It comes amid growing frustration over law enforcement’s inability to crack down on the illegal operations, with Homeland Security reportedly pleading with Maine police in September to help them gather information about the properties.
“There are hundreds of these operations happening across the state,” Penobscot County Sheriff Troy Morton told the Daily Caller at the time.
“It is disturbing to those who live near these operations, and even to those who follow Maine laws and procedures.”
This home in Belgrade, Maine, was searched by police earlier this year after authorities said they discovered illegal marijuana farms there. Two Chinese nationals were arrested
Maine police seized 970 marijuana plants from a Chinese farm in the city of China in January
Those Morton was referring to, especially Maine’s law-abiding pot industry, say the infiltration of “Triad weed” has been a disaster.
“When I say they operate like a mafia, that’s absolutely true,” a legal industry professional told the Maine Wire. ‘They have a very nice network.’
Many in the legal marijuana industry say they have become extremely selective about not using Chinese-grown marijuana because it often contains harmful chemicals, including pesticides.
The product’s harmful elements are another example of the struggle law enforcement agencies have faced in combating illegal marijuana grown by illegal immigrants.
“Regardless of where the individuals come from, the real problem involves conflicting state and federal laws,” Morton said. ‘We also have little to no supervision, which means that criminal activities are taking place at a high level.’