WASHINGTON D.C. (WABI) – As federal law enforcement officials continue to investigate and shut down illegal Chinese marijuana grow operations across Maine, Senator Susan Collins is bringing the issue to the new Secretary of Homeland Security and FBI Director.
At Senate Appropriations Committee hearings on Thursday to review budget requests for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, Collins briefed both Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel.
In August of 2023, DHS issued a memo in which the department had identified more than 270 Chinese-backed illegal marijuana operations in our state, producing up to an estimated $4.3 billion in illicit revenue.
Collins says she hopes President Trump’s detailed budget request includes funding to help law enforcement efforts to shut down the illegal grow houses in Maine and other states across the country.
“DEA has also been involved. IRS has been involved. The FBI is starting to get involved. But DHS obviously has an important role to play. So, I hope you will commit today to joining this all-of-government effort to shut down these dangerous, illegal grow houses,” Collins said.“Undoubtedly, there’s human trafficking going on as well. The marijuana is destroying these houses with black mold, because it’s grown inside to try to hide what is going on. And it’s being smuggled to other states. This isn’t just a problem in Maine; some 22 states have similarly found these illegal grow operations with ties to transnational criminal organizations in China.
“This is alarming that we have China – not only are they stealing our IP, manipulating their currency, but they’re building a presence in this country as well,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. “And so everything that we can do to make sure that we’re addressing that and not allowing them to get a foothold within the center of our country and in our important states like Maine is incredibly important.”
“So, what we’ve done since I’ve taken the seat as the Director of the FBI isreprioritize assets to push out into the field, to cover down in not just pieces of Maine, but all of Maine,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “And when we finish this redeployment cycle, hopefully within the next six to nine months, we will not only just have the manpower in the field, but at headquarters, I’ve prioritized intelligence collection against the CCP that is directly tied to these marijuana grow houses. We have numerous new investigations open on just these matters alone, but the field is telling me what you’re telling me, we need more folks out there. I’m trying to put them out there as fast as I can, but I also can’t cripple the needs in Washington, D.C., so we’re doing it in a timeline fashion of 30, 60, 90, day pushes as best as we can.”
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In August of 2023, DHS issued a memo in which the department had identified more than 270 Chinese-backed illegal marijuana operations in our state, producing up to an estimated $4.3 billion in illicit revenue. Read More
