Six men accused of participating in a large-scale marijuana grow operation in the basements of their homes are facing federal drug charges, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday.
Sheng Huang, Yue De Deng, Guang Dong Feng, Pingwen Bai, Fuyin Deng and Tran Van were arrested and face charges of cultivating thousands of marijuana plants.
Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the North Metro Task Force initiated the investigation in January after a confidential source told law enforcement about an Asian marijuana organization that existed in the Thornton area.
The affidavit says agents tapped the suspects’ cell phones and learned that some members of the organization were about to dismantle the plants because they were concerned about a possible extortion.
Agents decided to obtain search warrants for the properties on Saturday.
At Huang’s homes in Firestone and Thornton, agents found about 500 plants, the complaint says. At Deng’s four residences in Thornton, agents say they found more than 5,000 plants.
Van, the owner of the China Garden Restaurant in Westminster, was observed by agents meeting with a known drug trafficker only referred to in the court records as Cho. When agents stopped Cho as he left Van’s restaurant, they found about 11 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle, the complaint says.
