WAYCROSS, Ga. — Eight Chinese nationals are facing federal charges for running huge marijuana growing facilities in Southeast Georgia.
Investigators discovered two large-scale indoor marijuana growing facilities on two tracts of land in Pierce and Brantley Counties.
The following people are charged with “Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute and Possession with Intent to Distribute more than 1,000 marijuana plants,” according to a news release from the Department of Justice:
Hiawen Huang, 54Yim Hung Yuen, 61Chen Hui Shu, 35Jen Peng Ma, 34Zhu Sheng Bing, 64Wei Sheng Deng, 42Lecai Huang, 67Zhi Yong Ma, 52
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Action News Jax told you in February when the raid on the Pierce County property happened.
In that raid, federal authorities seized more than 11,000 plants inside a building disguised as a fish farm.
“This investigation alleges the discovery of a massive clandestine operation illegally growing marijuana on two locations hidden in plain sight,” U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg said in a news release. “Our exceptional law enforcement partners identified these illicit operations and are working to hold these defendants accountable.”
PHOTOS: 11,000 marijuana plants worth millions found in rural Georgia bust
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The Department of Justice said Shu, Ma, Bing, and Deng are also charged with Possession of Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.
Also, Lecai Huang and Ma are charged with a separate count of Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime, the DOJ said.
The DOJ believes Hiawen Huang and Yim Hung Yuen have left the United States. The other defendants have made their first appearances in federal court.
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Eight Chinese nationals are facing federal charges for running huge marijuana growing facilities in Southeast Georgia. Read More
