Chinese nationals arrested in Georgia county's 'largest' indoor drug growing bust ever
(Credit: Georgia Department of Agriculture)
PIERCE COUNTY, Ga. - Georgia officials thought they were on their way to investigate an illegal food manufacturing facility in Pierce County, but when they got to the scene they quickly realized what they had on their hands was much bigger than that. They discovered nearly $22.5 million worth of marijuana plants growing in Pierce County.
The Pierce County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation four weeks ago after receiving reports of an alleged illegal food manufacturing facility being run in a building owned by a company called HG LLC.
When they went inside, they found more than 11,000 marijuana plants growing of various sizes.
"We do have four chinese nationals in jail," Sheriff Ramsey Bennett said. "Bond for all four has been denied."
Wei Sheng Deng
One suspect, Wei Sheng Deng, was detained by ICE.
The other three suspects – Zhu Sheng Bing, Jinpeng Ma, and Chenhui Shu – were deemed to be in the U.S. legally. They were all charged with felony marijuana manufacturing, felony possession of marijuana and are expected to face additional trafficking charges.
This is believed to be the biggest drug bust of an indoor growing operation in the county's history.