Greeley man arrested for pot trafficking had 412 plants in his basement, cops say

May 29, 2018 blogger Colorado News, Crime & Courts, Drug Enforcement Administration, jail, Latest News, marijuana, marijuana crime, Medicial Marijuana, News, Stop Smoking Marijuana, Stop Smoking Pot, weed, withdrawal

A Greeley man who was arrested for his suspected involvement in a multi-state marijuana trafficking ring had 412 plants growing in his basement when he was taken into custody, according to an affidavit for his arrest.

Yong Chen, 47, also is suspected of cultivating 67.5 pounds of processed and finished marijuana in a home located in the 2000 block of 81st Avenue.

He was arrested March 14 on suspicion of cultivation of marijuana and possession of more than 50 pounds of marijuana with intent to distribute. He was allegedly involved in an organization that had grow operations in Greeley, Windsor and Frederick. The other suspects arrested in the case were You Hao Chen, 23; Rong Ye, 38; Jui Lin, 45; Hua Lin, 43; Zhqiang Zhou, 57; Xin Chen, 37; and Gao Gong, 47.

Weld County Drug Task Force Officers made the arrests after finding 3,313 plants and 460 pounds of finished marijuana in homes that were bought and rented by drug traffickers.

According to the affidavit, Chen told officers he moved into the house on 81st Avenue in June 2017, four months before the drug task force started a wiretap investigation into the organization. When special agent Brian Mix of the Drug Enforcement Administration asked him about his grow, Chen said he started with 50 “little” plants given to him in June 2017 by a person who isn’t named in the affidavit.