Commentary
Transnational criminal networks with ties to communist China pose a growing menace to U.S. national security through involvement in money laundering, human trafficking, drug production, and their recent expansion into the illegal marijuana trade.
Police in Carmel, Maine—a town of just less than 3,000 people—raided an illegal Chinese marijuana farm. Officials became suspicious when the electricity bill for the former chicken farm jumped to $7,000 per month under its new owners from $600 per month. The police seized 111 pounds of processed marijuana, as well as 3,400 marijuana plants. Four Chinese nationals, two of whom were naturalized U.S. citizens, were charged with the illegal cultivation and trafficking of marijuana.
The marijuana farm, which was officially owned by a Massachusetts-registered construction firm, is just one of many. The Daily Caller reported that across the state of Maine, there were at least 270 illegal marijuana operations tied to China. The Wall Street Journal reported that, according to the confession of one of the defendants, there’s a 100-mile stretch of Interstate 95 in Maine where “all the Chinese people are growing marijuana.”
Illicit marijuana farms and sales operations associated with China aren’t only emerging in Maine but are also spreading throughout the United States. In San Bernardino, California, it’s estimated that 85 percent of illegal indoor marijuana farms are operated by Chinese and Mexican nationals. Since 2020, law enforcement in Oklahoma has raided nearly 1,000 marijuana farms, about 80 percent to 90 percent of which had ties to Chinese crime rings.
One of the many attractions of the illegal drug business is that it’s all cash, flying under the radar of tax and banking regulators. Consequently, tax evasion and money laundering can be added to their list of violations. These farms also engage in human trafficking and possibly employ Chinese citizens brought into the United States through the southern border.
Over the past year, U.S. authorities have captured 24,000 Chinese nationals attempting to enter the United States illegally, more than in the previous 10 years combined. It’s unknown how many evaded capture and are now inside the country.
Recreational marijuana is legal in 24 states. But contrary to arguments made in favor of legalization, this hasn’t caused the black market to dry up, nor has the price decreased. Crime rates have gone up. Meanwhile, demand for marijuana has increased, as has the demand for heroin, fentanyl, amphetamines, and other dangerous drugs. The black market for illicit drugs has increased in size, both globally and in the United States. Chinese transnational crime organizations are now more active than ever in the United States, forming collaborations with Mexican cartels.
In New York, earlier this year, Chinese nationals employed by chemical manufacturing companies based in China were charged with criminal conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl in the United States. Working together with Mexican drug cartels, the employees imported the precursor chemicals into the United States, where they manufactured them for distribution on the streets.
With any Chinese business or investment in the United States, it’s unclear if and to what extent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is involved. And the lines are often blurred between the CCP and transnational crime organizations. Chinese transnational crime groups launder their own illicit profits, as well as perform laundering services for Mexican cartels. Data compiled by the Washington-based nonprofit Global Financial Integrity (GFI) show that China is responsible for roughly half of all money laundering worldwide. As most banks in China are state-backed, there’s a government connection.
The U.S. Treasury Department has been investigating China-based transnational crimes, such as money laundering, drug trafficking, and cybercrime. The Treasury has identified these crimes, as well as Chinese links to Mexican drug cartels, as a national security threat. The open southern border is allowing the CCP to place agents inside the United States while allowing transnational crime organizations to increase their manpower.
While about 100,000 Chinese illegal migrants are currently in line for deportation, China’s consistent refusal to take them back is playing into the hands of the CCP. This strategy gives Chinese agents a potential entry point into the United States, and if caught, Beijing’s refusal to accept deportees often results in them staying put on American soil and continuing their unlawful activities.
Some U.S. officials are concerned that Chinese drug crime in the United States is a form of asymmetric warfare. Additionally, the illegal marijuana issue intersects with the larger threat of Chinese entities buying up U.S. farmland. Threatening the food supply, getting Americans hooked on drugs, and increasing crime will destabilize the country. At the same time, forcing the U.S. government to focus on domestic drug problems will distract it from addressing CCP threats in other arenas.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
