Chinese crime syndicate’s alleged pot grows lead to seizure of 100 homes in Sacramento

The Sacramento Bee ^ | April 4th, 2018 | By Sam Stanton

[Mariner]

In the largest operation of its kind, federal agents swept across the Sacramento region Tuesday and Wednesday targeting about 75 homes serving as suspected marijuana growing sites that authorities say are operated by a Chinese organized crime syndicate.

The raids, which involved more than 500 federal, state and local agents, hit homes from Elk Grove to Sacramento to rural areas and are aimed at forcing the forfeiture of about 100 homes to the federal government, an effort valued at millions of dollars in real estate and marijuana.

“This represents one of the largest residential forfeiture efforts in the nation's history,” the U.S. Justice Department said.

The investigation began in 2014 as investigators began to see an uptick in marijuana growing operations concealed in residential neighborhoods throughout the Sacramento area, and escalated in the last year as agents used utility bills and sophisticated financial analysis to track millions of dollars coming from China into the United States for the purchase of the homes.

The buyers, typically Chinese citizens in the country legally, are suspected of turning the homes into pot-growing operations that then shipped the marijuana through trucks, mail and couriers to the Eastern seaboard for sale, authorities say.

This week‘s raids resulted in the seizure of more than 26,830 marijuana plants, 343 pounds of processed marijuana, nearly $67,000 in cash and 13 firearms, officials say, with those numbers expected to grow as the final tallies are calculated.

[TigersEye]

Ah! I forgot about the diversity of IQs.

A subject Moonbeam should in general avoid any direct references to. :)

[gundog]

ping

[Mr. Blond]

Just legalize it and the crime goes away...

[BansheeBill]

You don't need people to trim marihuana buds anymore. There are a number of multi thousand dolor motorized trimming machines available. American industry to the rescue. See some of them here:
Click here

[editor-surveyor]

.
Houses in Elk Grove will run about 500K, and Shingle Springs will be more like 800k and up.

[Truthoverpower]

That s some crazy shit
Ok another note there’s good led grow lights now so power will go way down

[TexasGator]

Immigration ... not other crimes

[TigersEye]

Thanks!

When a tongue-in-cheek comment needs to be analyzed literally your insight is always brilliant.

[Getready]

Wonder if they will sell the houses....maybe less than market?

[fr_freak]

My spidey sense tells me that CHINA IS BANKROLLING THIS INVASION and this story proves me right.

Conquering America, ONE HOUSE AT A TIME.

Don't worry - the Mexicans will never let the Chinese steal the USA from them.

[RightGeek]

Why do it inside where the power usage will be a tipoff?

In CA, you could do it all outside in remote areas and I thought they did.

[Polynikes]

“Should have just bought the licenses and grown it legally in California. Lot cheaper.”

Yeah but no taxes this way. The FEDS grabbed the grow houses but they can RICO the houses and properties/assets of the buyers out from under them faster than you can say Ho Lee Fook.

[T-Bone Texan]

Maybe they use those automatic trimming devices I’ve read about.