Overview
- A November multi-county grand jury indictment charges 19 defendants with 18 felonies, including racketeering, conspiracy to defraud the state, document fraud and aggravated manufacturing.
- Hao Chen, identified by authorities as the alleged ringleader, was arrested and is being held at Rikers Island in New York.
- Investigators executed more than 50 search warrants, seized 12 firearms and led to four deportations during the probe involving 27 agencies.
- Officials attribute roughly 1 million pounds of marijuana, valued at about $1.5 billion, to the organization’s black-market operations.
- The investigation traced activities across at least eight states and followed financial flows tied to multiple states and China, with the case opened in March 2024 and arrests made in January 2026.