7 Chinese nationals facing federal charges in massive illegal marijuana grow operation in New Englad

Seven Chinese nationals were charged in federal court in Boston Tuesday in connection with a multi-million-dollar conspiracy to cultivate and distribute marijuana across the Northeast that used interconnected grow houses concealed inside single-family properties in Massachusetts and Maine leaders declared It is alleged the individuals were smuggled into the United States to work in these grow houses without access to their passports until they repaid their smuggling debts Indicted one on count each of conspiracy to manufacture distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana as well as additional charges were Jianxiong Chen of Braintree Mass also indicted on one count of money laundering conspiracy counts of money laundering and one count of bringing aliens into the United States Yuxiong Wu of Weymouth Mass also indicted on one count of money laundering conspiracy and four counts of money laundering Dinghui Li of Braintree Mass also indicted on one count of money laundering conspiracy and two counts of money laundering Dechao Ma of Braintree Mass also indicted on one count of money laundering conspiracy and two counts of money laundering Peng Lian Zhu of Melrose Mass also indicted on one count of money laundering conspiracy Hongbin Wu of Quincy Yanrong Zhu of Greenfield Mass and Brooklyn N Y remains a fugitive from justice This situation pulls back the curtain on a sprawling criminal enterprise that exploited our immigration system and our communities for personal gain These defendants allegedly turned quiet homes across the Northeast into hubs for a criminal enterprise building a multi-million-dollar black-market operation off the backs of an illegal workforce and using our neighborhoods as cover That ends in the modern day commented United States Attorney Leah B Foley in a report According to the charging documents from in or about January the defendants allegedly owned operated or partnered with a organization of interconnected grow houses in Massachusetts and Maine to cultivate and distribute kilogram-sized quantities of marijuana in bulk Specifically the enterprise allegedly operated grow houses in Braintree Mass Melrose Mass and Greenfield Mass among other locations in Massachusetts Maine and elsewhere It is alleged that the grow house operators maintained contact with each other through a list of marijuana cultivators and distributors from or with ties to China in the region called the East Coast Contact List It is alleged that Chen controlled several grow houses in Maine as well as a home in Braintree Mass which served as a base of operations for the enterprise Marijuana manufactured by the interconnected grow house organization as well as bulk cash from dealers was allegedly delivered to and redistributed by Chen at this Braintree residence It is further alleged that co-conspirators concealed the marijuana and cash they were delivering to Chen inside the engine compartments of their vehicles During a search of the home in October over in cash was allegedly recovered from the house and from a Porsche in the driveway as well as several Chinese passports and other identification documents inside a safe Figures extracted from Chen s cell phone allegedly revealed that he helped smuggle Chinese nationals into the United States putting the aliens to work at one of the grow houses he controlled while keeping possession of their passports until they repaid him for the cost associated with smuggling them into the country It is alleged that profits from the marijuana sales which totaled in the millions of dollars were used to purchase luxury homes automobiles jewelry and other items in Massachusetts including to expand the enterprise through the purchase of real estate Additional October searches of grow houses located in Braintree and Melrose where Ma and Zhu resided respectively allegedly resulted in the seizure of over kilograms of marijuana nearly in cash and numerous luxury items including a gold Rolex watch with a price tag still on it It is further alleged that the enterprise conducted bulk cash transactions with operators located in the Eastern District of New York According to court documents in June Hongbin Wu and Yanrong Zhu were stopped by law enforcement after leaving a grow house in Greenfield Mass during which in cash was seized from the defendants