Feds Drop Charges on Maine Bud Grower After 20-State Investigation

Yo, check it. Last week, this dude from Maine got scooped up by the cops for running an unlicensed cannabis operation way out in the boonies like 60 miles north of Bangor. Law enforcement took 40 pounds of that good good from a spot in Passadumkeag, Maine and slapped cuffs on Xisen Guo for allegedly trafficking drugs and setting up a fancy grow operation at the spot.

So peep this, Maine said it’s all good to grow pot for fun back in 2016 with some ballot thing, but Guo didn’t have a license to do it and was moving work without the feds knowing. They got him held down without bail on some federal charges, making him the first cat in Maine to get hit with something like that. Two other folks were chilling at the spot when the boys in blue rolled through, but they caught a break and got let go.

The fuzz raided the grow spot after they peeped the power bill for the place and saw a crazy jump in electricity use. When this rural crib got copped for $125k cash, the power bill went from $300 a month to almost 9 G’s a month. The cops said all that juice being used lines up with lights, HVAC gear, and other stuff used in big-time grow ops.

But peep this, the whole thing goes deeper than just one dude getting busted. The feds been looking into these illegal grow spots run by outsiders for years across mad states, like 20 deep. Back in ’18, they snagged a lady in Seattle and took out thousands of plants at spots tied back to China. In Oklahoma, they clocked groups from Mexico and China pulling moves after medical weed got the green light in ’18. But instead of keeping it local for legit patients, they started sending it out to states where it’s still a no-go.

Last week, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland told some big shots in Congress that the DEA is checking out these international crews running illicit weed grows all over about 20 states, including Maine. A group of lawmakers dropped a letter asking questions about China’s link to illegal grows here in the U.S., saying they’re “deeply concerned” about what’s going down.

Over in Maine, IRS, Homeland Security, FBI, DEA, and local cops are teaming up to squash unlicensed grow ops. The feds said there are like 100 spots just like Passadumkeag popping off across the state. Since June, they’ve been dropping search warrants left and right on these underground grow ops.

The U.S. Attorney for Maine is saying taking apart these illegal spots connected to big foreign players is top priority for law enforcement. She’s saying they’re seeing success breaking down these shady ops with “dozens” getting shut down just in recent months.

Former DEA honcho Raymond Donovan told CBS News that those sky-high electric bills are how you know someone’s running an illegal grow op. He said all that electricity being used calls for some next-level gear that’s hard to come by, especially out in Maine.

Another spot in Machias got busted back in December after cops noticed some weird electricity use happening. After the raid scored 2,600 plants and 100 pounds of finished product, police chief Keith Mercier said the spot was using way more juice than any normal house should be.

So yeah, it’s getting hot out there for these illegal growers all over the country. Stay woke out there if you’re trying to run something under the radar cause the feds are on it like white on rice. Peace out.