Six Chinese nationals have each been sentenced to more than two years in prison for operating a large-scale illegal marijuana cultivation operation in Georgia.
Shu Chen Hui, 36; Huang Lecai, 68; Deng Wei Sheng, 41; and Bing Zhu Sheng, 65, were sentenced to 30 months in prison, while Ma Jin Peng, 35, and Ma Zhi Yong, 54, received 29-month terms. All six had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
“This case highlights how the actions of steadfast law enforcement officers led to the discovery and dismantling of a massive drug distribution operation in southern Georgia,” Heap said in a statement.
“Our exceptional partners in law enforcement have contributed greatly to their community by eliminating this large-scale, illegal marijuana growing factory.”
At the press conference, Harper said it was the largest marijuana seizure in Pierce County’s history; the seized marijuana plants had an estimated street value of $22.3 million.
Harper described the facility as “sophisticated” and said it had “hundreds of thousands of dollars in infrastructure.”
“It’s unlike a normal marijuana grow or marijuana operation that you typically would find in rural South Georgia,” Harper said.
The facility had been in operation since 2022, Bennett said at the press conference.
“This wasn’t your average South Georgia countrymen with a few plants in the backyard or a few plants in the closet. It far exceeds that,” Bennett said at the time.
In total, the defendants operated two large-scale indoor marijuana grow operations on properties in Georgia’s Pierce and Brantley counties, according to Heap’s office. The sites contained irrigation systems, grow lights, and equipment for multiple stages of production.
About 15,000 marijuana plants were seized by law enforcement, Heap’s office said, and the two properties were forfeited to the United States in March.
“The successful takedown of this network sends a clear message that our law enforcement partners remain united and unwavering in the effort to identify, investigate, and dismantle organizations that threaten the safety of our neighborhoods,” Jae W. Chung, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Atlantic Field Division, said in a statement.
Heap’s office said the defendants are scheduled for deportation proceedings after their release from federal prison.
The defendants’ lawyers couldn’t be reached by The Epoch Times.
The announcement follows some similar cases.
As a result of the investigation, Chen Qi Wei, a Chinese national, was indicted in Craig County on multiple charges, including aggravated manufacturing of a controlled dangerous substance, according to Drummond’s office.
“The Chinese crime syndicates and Mexican drug cartels are getting the message loud and clear that they are not welcome in Oklahoma,“ Drummond said in a statement at the time. ”We will not let up until this scourge is erased from our state.”
“On the marijuana grow houses, we have six active ongoing investigations in six multiple jurisdictions for specifically taking down [Chinese Communist Party-affiliated] grow houses from Maine to Georgia across the country,” Patel said.
