'Under a microscope': Chinese national sentenced for marijuana trafficking crimes

Oklahoma authorities have revealed new details about illegal drug operations in the state following the sentencing of 47-year-old Jeff Weng, a Chinese national based in Brooklyn, New York.

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Weng received a 10-year federal prison sentence for drug trafficking, with an additional five years of supervised release.

His co-defendant, 29-year-old Tong Lin, received the same sentence in June 2023.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) supported the FBI in investigating the case, which uncovered a large-scale marijuana trafficking operation. The two men operated a licensed grow facility in Wetumka and used disguised delivery vehicles, including a fake Amazon van, to transport marijuana to a warehouse in Oklahoma City. Over seven months, they trafficked approximately 56,000 pounds of marijuana using a semi-truck.

A May 2023 search of the Wetumka grow site revealed nearly 20,000 marijuana plants, over $100,000 in vacuum-sealed cash hidden in Weng’s attic, and a firearm.

Mark Woodward, OBN spokesperson, acknowledged Oklahoma’s reputation as the “Wild West of Weed” but emphasized the state’s crackdown on illegal operations since 2022. The rapid growth of the medical marijuana industry during the pandemic allowed transnational criminal organizations to exploit the state.

Oklahoma saw the number of marijuana farms surge from 3,000 in 2020 to 9,400 by 2022. However, stricter enforcement has since reduced that number to 2,400 by the end of 2024.

Officials linked illegal marijuana farms to crimes such as murder, theft, labor trafficking, and sex trafficking. Efforts to tighten regulations have enabled authorities to tackle these broader issues, including combating fentanyl and xylazine distribution.

Woodward highlighted the state’s progress in dismantling criminal networks and restoring order to the industry, stating, “We’ve really flipped the script on the criminal organizations.”