Eight Chinese nationals are facing federal charges for running huge marijuana growing facilities in Pierce and Brantley Counties.
Pierce County Investigators discovered a large-scale indoor marijuana growing facility between Offerman and Patterson February and that led to the discovery of another operation in Brantley County.
Hiawen Huang, 54, Yim Hung Yuen, 61, Chen Hui Shu, 35, Jen Peng Ma, 34, Zhu Sheng Bing, 64, Wei Sheng Deng, 42, Lecai Huang, 67 and Zhi Yong Ma, 52, have been indicted and charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute and possession with intent to distribute more than 1,000 marijuana plants.
Beng, Shu, Deng and Ma were arrested in Pierce County.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Shu, Ma, Bing, and Deng are also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Lecai Huang and Ma are also charged with a separate count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
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.
In the raid, law enforcement officers seized 11,153 plants inside a building between Cal-Maine Foods and Progress Rail on U.S. Highway 84 between Patterson and Offerman. The operation was disguised as a fish farm.
Sheriff Bennett said at the time the operation was “elaborate” with the “growing room” set up. The marijuana was being cultivated in four different growing rooms inside a structure on a tract of land at the location.
On the streets, the marijuana had an estimated value of approximately $22.3 million.
The bust is the largest in the history of Pierce County.
The Brantley County operation resulted in the seizure of about 4,400 plants.
The Pierce County Sheriff's Office, Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Department of Agriculture Law Enforcement Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Department of Corrections and Georgia Power Security Department assisted with the operation. Approximately 35 law enforcement officers were on scene to assist with the case.
“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.”
