(BDN) — A tracking device on a minivan and a camera on a pole watching a house played key roles in an investigation into an illegal marijuana grow facility across from a Maine day care, newly unsealed court records reveal.
In March, members of an FBI task force investigating the property put a tracking device on a gray 2008 Toyota Sienna minivan that regularly parked at a suspected illegal marijuana grow house at 56 Pine St. in Mexico. The property was raided by police June 14 and 498 marijuana plants were seized.
The application and affidavit for a tracking device, unsealed Friday, provide a rare look into the investigative techniques police are using to identify illegal pot grow properties throughout the state. Since the start of 2024, around 30 raids have taken place in Maine.
The federal government is cracking down on illegal marijuana grow houses after a leaked federal government memo from August said there are up to 270 large-scale illegal grows in Maine connected to Chinese organized crime, with the money being used for crime in the U.S. or being sent back to China.
The application for the warrant was supposed to be unsealed in late May, but it was extended by 90 days because of the ongoing criminal investigation.
“Here, in particular, the targets of the investigation are under active surveillance and the execution of a search warrant on a related location in Mexico, Maine, is contemplated,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote in a court filing. “Therefore, primarily to guard against the targets’ risk of flight and destruction of evidence, the Government wishes to remain covert in its investigation at this time.”
In late February, Detective Sgt. George Cayer with the Rumford police noticed the smell of unburnt marijuana around the property in Mexico and the two-story garage had a ventilation system that was actively in use. Cayer is part of the FBI task force, according to the application and affidavit for a tracking warrant.
Cayer did not respond to requests to comment on the investigation.
He watched the house in February, during which time he saw people make multiple trips carrying black trash bags — which likely contained discarded roots and trimmings from a recent harvest — from the garage to behind the house.
Cayer also saw people carrying trays of new seedlings into the property, according to court records.
The property was across from a day care and 950 feet from a middle school, court records noted.
Throughout Cayer’s monitoring, the minivan was frequently at the property. Following the minivan would not have been an effective use of police resources, which is why he requested the tracking device, according to court records.
A tracking device was installed on the minivan with New York license plates from March 3 to April 17, according to court records. That same make and model of minivan was used at other illegal grows, including one person in Passadumkeag who had three registered in his name.
The task force also subpoenaed Central Maine Power for electricity records at the property. At the highest usage, the property in Mexico used 52,494 kilowatt-hours of electricity for $13,498 in November, according to those records. A large retail store or hotel would use about 60,000 kilowatt-hours a month, Versant spokesperson Marissa Minor previously told the Bangor Daily News.
Two people, Guo Hong Lei and Xiandu Zhang, connected to the illegal grow property were arrested and charged in federal court. Their cases are pending in the U.S. District Court of Portland. Both men have surrendered their passports during the criminal proceedings.
A camera was installed on a pole, taking photos of the property and captured Lei going in and out of the house multiple times a day for numerous days, the court record said.
