The Stewart County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) told The Tennessee Star on Monday that the criminal case against Ruian Huang, 56, a Chinese national accused of operating an elaborate marijuana growing operation described in 2023 as the largest in Stewart County’s history, has yet to reach trial.
More than a year has passed since more than 2,000 marijuana plants were allegedly discovered in a “very sophisticated environment” at a vacant church in Indian Mound. The sheriff’s office told The Star that Huang remains the only individual charged following the search. Huang was set to go to trial in June, but the SCSO stated a language barrier, imposed by Huang’s limited understanding of English, required an interpreter to be present.
In December 2023, SCSO described the search preceding the criminal case as a joint operation also involving the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the 23rd Judicial Task Force. SCSO said it uncovered “a very sophisticated growing environment,” which included “growing and watering systems all on timers,” along with a supply of “possibly toxic chemicals.”
The sheriff’s office additionally revealed that authorities were “slowed down in the search by the possibility of booby traps laid out for law enforcement.”
Describing what was allegedly found at the Indian Mound address in 2023, SCSO Lieutenant Robbie MacDonald said the size of the operation was peculiar for the sheriff’s office at the time, but that a similar operation has since been discovered in Stewart County.
“If you Google ‘Chinese illegal marijuana grows,’ it’s happening all across America,” said MacDonald. “It’s happening all over. It’s been pretty interesting, let’s put it that way.”
The new information from SCSO comes following the publication of High Crimes: The Chinese Mafia’s Takeover of Rural America, a new documentary released by The Maine Wire through the Tucker Carlson Network, which reported that more than 150 properties in Maine are linked to Chinese nationals and are used as growing operations for marijuana.
These operations are alleged to use unsafe chemicals to produce their product, which is often sold to finance more lucrative drugs, including fentanyl. The documentary also alleged these properties are used to launder money, steal electricity from the grid, and depend on human trafficking, with those staffing them functionally amounting to “slaves.”
MacDonald told The Star that descriptions of the properties in Maine matched what was discovered at Indian Mound, but stopped short of suggesting the operation is part of a nationwide trend.
“I can’t say what’s happened in other places beyond what I’ve read,” said MacDonald, after suggesting the public should, “Google it and read everything you see.”
Steve Robinson, the editor-in-chief for The Maine Wire, recently explained that his outlet’s documentary was motivated by a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo, which claimed thousands of black market growing operations were being operated by the Chinese mafia, including 270 in Maine.
He told Michael Patrick Leahy, the editor-in-chief of The Star, that the documentary uncovered Maine’s “biggest manufacturing sector right now is cannabis.”
Robinson said the rural nature of Maine made it “an excellent place to hide,” and estimated, “there are between 300 and 400 different properties throughout the state of Maine. Not all of them grow. Some of them are boarding houses and flop houses. Some of them are warehouses.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Vigilante justice for this Chicom.