Farmers in Oklahoma are warning residents about cannabis farms owned by China backed heavily armed workers using phony Amazon trucks.
Authorities in Oklahoma, Oregon, California, New Mexico and Maine have all been battling a surge in Chinese weed farms, with some thought to be linked to criminal gangs known as 'triads'.
The spread is seemingly uncontainable, with police in Penobscot County, Maine, in February arresting three Chinese nationals at a weed farm and seizing 40 pounds of the drug alongside $4,700 in cash.
It's reported that authorities in Oklahoma have shut down at least 15 black market farms per day.
The native, local farmers like Larry Williams have been intimidated by stories that the Chinese-owned growers arm themselves with AK-47s.
Farmers in Oklahoma are warning residents about cannabis farms owned by China backed heavily armed workers using phony Amazon trucks
'You see things that you feel that are suspicious, you know,' Williams, who grows and harvests with his son Colby, told NewsNation senior national correspondent Brian Entin during, 'On Balance With Leland Vittert.'
There are other signs of the illegal grow-houses that separate them from the ones native to Oklahoma.
Some of them have air condition units outside the barns, or fencing that none of the other farms have, as many shoot up and are ready to go after just a few months of construction, Williams claims.
They also use disguised Amazon trucks, according to investigators, as well as look-a-like Amazon packaging.
The marijuana is sold on the black market to dealers on the east coast, who profit despite many states on the eastern seaboard legalizing recreational cannabis.
The profits are then returned to mainland China.
'The Chinese are not dumb. I mean, they recognize it, and they can exploit and drive behavior of unsuspecting Oklahomans through this cash transaction,' Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond told NewsNation's On Balance With Leland Vittert.
Governor Kevin Stitt claims that the state has gotten rid of 6,000 fake houses since 2021, 80 percent of which were tied to China.
Authorities in Oklahoma , Oregon , California , New Mexico and Maine have all been battling a surge in Chinese weed farms, with some thought to be linked to criminal gangs known as 'triads'
The black market growers use disguised Amazon trucks, according to investigators, as well as look-a-like Amazon packaging
They've attempted to contain the problem by increasing the costs of entry and doing business in the state.
Stitt says they could absolutely use more help from federal drug enforcement, but he's demanding Joe Biden help by closing the border.
'You've gotta' tie this back to the border,' Stitt said. 'Some of this is coming through the southern border. We're begging the president of the United States to enact some of those Trump policies of remain in Mexico.'
Earlier this year, a Chinese ringleader was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to fatally shooting four people at an illegal medical marijuana operation in Oklahoma.
Mexican cartels have long dominated the market for illegal weed in the US, but officials are now warning that Chinese funding for such operations is skyrocketing.
It is not known whether the money is coming from groups connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but experts have pointed out that triads are usually only allowed to operate if they agree to act as informal 'enforcers' for the government.
Last year, a Homeland Security memo leaked to the Daily Caller attributed the growth to Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs), with one official raising the possibility that profits are being funneled back to Beijing.
Chinese immigrant workers have alleged they were lured to northern New Mexico under false pretenses and forced to work 14 hours a day at an illegal marijuana plant backed with funds from a China-based energy giant, according to a lawsuit filed last year.
Governor Kevin Stitt claims that the state has gotten rid of 6,000 fake houses since 2021, 80 percent of which were tied to China
One of the native, legal growers says the fake grow-houses are armed with AK-47s
The operation was shut down by police in 2020, but those behind it upped sticks to Oklahoma - taking many of their workers with them - before that farm was also busted in 2022.
The crackdown in Southern and Western states has been put forward as one reason for the explosion in weed farms in Maine.
For several years, Maine residents have spoken out about a surge in marijuana-odor filled homes popping up across the state, including near daycares and schools.
The Chinese owners, who speak little to no English, have allegedly earned a notorious reputation throughout Maine for spending thousands on cultivating equipment, namely by demanding items from their phones.
Homes that have been identified as part of the extensive statewide apparatus appear to be found in everyday sleepy suburbs, yet are said to have been plaguing their neighborhoods as a strong marijuana smell emanates even from a distance away and are fitted with extensive electrical upgrades.
Experts estimate that a standard 2,500 square foot home can produce upwards of $3million of marijuana every year.
Some of the profits are allegedly sent directly back to China, while some of the ill-gotten gains remain in the US to keep up criminal activities.
According to an investigation by Maine Wire into 100 of the identified sites, they were all purchased since marijuana was legalized, by single Chinese adults primarily from New York and Massachusetts.
Governor Stitt claims that the state has gotten rid of 6,000 fake houses since 2021, 80 percent of which were tied to China
Stitt says they could absolutely use more help from federal drug enforcement, but he's demanding Joe Biden help by closing the border
Although the homes are allegedly filed under the single names, many are tied together by factors such as car registrations - indicating they may be connected and controlled by an umbrella organization.
Neighbors say it has become a near-monthly sight to see a van with New York or Massachusetts plates arrive at the pot-filled homes.
In January, Maine authorities raided an illegal Chinese-run marijuana operation in the aptly-named town of China in Kennebec County.
The Chinese-owned growing plants have emerged at a time when the marijuana industry is skyrocketing in the US, opening up million-dollar revenue streams for many - including the Amish community who were detailed in a DailyMail.com investigation last year.
Nationwide, Homeland Security has reportedly found a total of 749 properties linked to Asian TCOs, indicating Maine has become a particular hotbed for CCP activity.
It comes amid growing frustration at the failure of law enforcement to crack down on the illicit operations, with Homeland Security allegedly pleading with Maine police to help them gather intel on the properties in September.
'There are hundreds of these operations occurring throughout the state,' Penobscot County Sheriff Troy Morton told the Daily Caller at the time.
'It's upsetting to those who live near these operations, and even those who are following Maine laws and procedures.'
This house in Belgrade, Maine, was raided by police earlier this year after authorities said they uncovered illegal marijuana growing operations inside. Two Chinese nationals were arrested
Maine police seized 970 marijuana plants at a Chinese farm in the town of China in January
Those Morton was referencing, particularly Maine's law-abiding weed industry, say the infiltration of 'Triad weed' has been a disaster.
'When I say they function like a mafia, it is absolutely true,' a person inside the legal industry told the Maine Wire. 'They have a very intricate network.'
Many in the legal weed industry say they have been forced to become extremely selective to avoid using the Chinese-grown marijuana, as it is often found to contain harmful chemicals including pesticides.
The harmful elements to the product is another example of the struggle law enforcement have had in clamping down on the illegal marijuana grown by illegal immigrants.
'Regardless of where the individuals are from, the true problem involves conflicting state and federal laws,' Morton said. 'We also have little to no oversight, allowing for criminal activity to occur at a high degree.'