2 arrested in Harmony at suspected illegal marijuana grow

HARMONY — Two men from Massachusetts were arrested Tuesday when the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at a residence housing a suspected illegal marijuana growing facility that investigators said they had busted last year.

Around 9 a.m., the Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of several other law enforcement agencies, searched the residence on South Road in Harmony, Sheriff Dale Lancaster said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Investigators found 1,405 marijuana plants, about 100 pounds of processed marijuana, a 9 mm pistol, ammunition, $1,600 in suspected proceeds from the sale of illegal drugs, a 2017 Toyota Sienna van and other items, according to Lancaster.

Most of the residence was being used for growing and processing of cannabis, he said.

Investigators arrested Wenfeng Chen, 51, of Malden, Massachusetts, and Xinwen Zhang, 71, of Boston, who were both at the residence at the time of the search, Lancaster said.

Both were charged with one Class B count of marijuana cultivation and one Class B count of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs. The case and charges are being reviewed by the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maine, Lancaster said.

Chen and Zhang were being held initially on $10,000 cash bail at the Somerset County Jail in Madison, Lancaster said and jail records show.

A judge could change bail Wednesday if either of the two remain in custody, as they would be expected to appear in court then. Attorneys would also be appointed then, if Chen and Zhang are due back in court in Skowhegan on July 9, Lancaster said.

The agencies assisting in Tuesday’s investigation, according to the sheriff were the U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the Waterville Police Department and the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy.

Tuesday’s bust was the 24th search warrant the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office has executed at a suspected illegal growing facility since January 2024. Deputies have seized a total of approximately 30,000 marijuana plants, 500 pounds of processed marijuana, $51,000 in cash and six vehicles in the busts.

Most busts were in the first half of last year, amid a wave of other similar law enforcement activity across Maine.

Among those was the first bust of the South Road property in May 2024. Nobody was arrested then, and investigators seized more than 1,200 plants and about 25 pounds of processed marijuana, Lancaster said.

It was unclear Tuesday if law enforcement officials believe Chen and Zhang were connected with the May 2024 bust or if they would face additional charges stemming from it.

In Somerset County, 15 people have been arrested in connection with suspected illegal marijuana growing since January 2024, Lancaster said and court records show. Most of those cases are still pending in court.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine said in May 2024 that federal authorities believe many illegal growing operations in Maine could be connected to organized, transnational crime organizations with ties to China. The estimated number of illegal grows in Maine has fallen from more than 200 last year to fewer than 100, Andrew Lizotte, the assistant U.S. attorney leading the federal investigation into the grows, said in March.

Lancaster said in June 2024 he believed the operations in Maine fund the production of fentanyl in China and has since said investigating the suspected illegal grows remains a priority for his office.

The investigations across Maine put officials at odds over whether human trafficking is happening, and also has raised issues about public health due to the presence of black mold found at some residences and chemicals found at others.

Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, have been successful in taking three homes in Cornville, Corinna and Sangerville, which they believe were housing illegal growing operations, though civil forfeiture. There were three similar forfeiture cases for properties in Norridgewock, China and Machias that were pending in U.S. District Court as of Tuesday, according to court records.

Some of the homes used as illegal growing sites have headed to the real estate market. Others are becoming legal, medical cannabis growing facilities, a Morning Sentinel investigation found.

At least one man has started a business helping illegal grows shift into the medical market.