Federal authorities have uncovered a sprawling black-market marijuana operation allegedly run by Chinese nationals across Massachusetts and Maine, the Justice Department announced Tuesday. The scheme, which exploited both the immigration system and unsuspecting neighborhoods, generated millions of dollars through large-scale drug trafficking.
Seven Chinese nationals have been charged in connection with the conspiracy. According to U.S. Attorney Leah Foley, the group transformed quiet suburban homes into illegal grow operations, using smuggled labor and laundering profits through complex financial networks.
“This case pulls back the curtain on a sprawling criminal enterprise that exploited our immigration system and our communities for personal gain,” Foley said. “They used our neighborhoods as cover—and that ends today.”
Those charged include:
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Jianxiong Chen, 39 (alleged ringleader)
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Yuxiong Wu, 36
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Dinghui Li, 38
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Dechao Ma, 35
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Peng Lian Zhu, 35
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Hongbin Wu, 35
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Yanrong Zhu, 47 (still at large)
The defendants face charges including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana, money laundering, and in Chen’s case, alien smuggling.
FBI agent Ted Docks detailed how Chen smuggled Chinese nationals across the southern border and forced them into labor at marijuana grow houses until they repaid their smuggling fees—often by working under coercion. The trafficked workers’ passports were reportedly held as leverage.
The operation had grow sites in Braintree, Melrose, and Greenfield, Massachusetts. In an October 2024 raid, federal agents seized over $270,000 in cash, a Porsche, multiple Chinese passports, and fake IDs from Chen’s Braintree home. At other residences, they found 109 kilograms of marijuana, nearly $200,000 more in cash, and a $65,000 Rolex.
This bust is the latest in a disturbing trend. In recent years, Chinese-financed grow operations have proliferated across the country, with Maine authorities alone identifying more than 270 illegal sites valued in the billions. Lawmakers have since launched federal investigations, warning that these criminal networks pose not just law enforcement challenges—but growing national security threats.