NARCOTICS/MONEY LAUNDERING SEARCH WARRANTS

 Albany Police

On March 17, 2021 11 people were arrested during five search warrants at two locations in Linn County, one location in Benton County, and two in Marion County, Oregon conducted by the Linn Interagency Narcotics Enforcement (LINE) Task Force.  The investigation focused on the unlawful manufacture of marijuana in Linn County and money laundering through local restaurants in Linn, Benton and Marion Counties.  As a result of the warrants investigators seized cocaine, over 1900 marijuana plants, 40 pounds of processed marijuana, over $373,000.00 in US Currency, firearms, and several vehicles.

11 individuals were taken into custody during the search warrants and lodged in the Linn County Jail without incident on the following charges:

Yue “Michael” Chong Chen, 41 year old Salem resident, Racketeering, Money Laundering, Criminal Conspiracy and Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana, Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

Yongkang Chen, 36 year old Salem Resident - Racketeering, Money Laundering, Criminal Conspiracy and Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana, Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

Enrong Zhou, 40 year old Albany resident – Racketeering, Money Laundering, Criminal Conspiracy and Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana, Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

Yaorun Li, 27 year old Lebanon resident – Unlawful Manufacture of Marijuana, Criminal Conspiracy.

Guiqua Chen, 33 year old Renton, Washington resident - Unlawful Manufacture of Marijuana, Money Laundering, Racketeering, Identity Theft, Conspiracy.

Pinzheng Zhao, 39 year old Sweet Home resident - Identity Theft, Racketeering, Money Laundering, Criminal Conspiracy and Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana, Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

Jinhui Liu, 28 year old Portland resident – Criminal Conspiracy, Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

Liang Huan Chen, 65 year old Salem resident – Criminal Conspiracy, Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

Jianwen Zhu, 52 year old San Francisco, California resident – Criminal Conspiracy, Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

Rongchu Mai, 52 year old San Francisco, California resident – Criminal Conspiracy, Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

Weihong Gong, 56 year old San Francisco, California resident – Criminal Conspiracy, Aid and Abet Unlawful Manufacturing of Marijuana.

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Albany Police Department, Lebanon Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration, Sweet Home Police Department, Linn Regional SWAT, Corvallis Police Department, Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Philomath Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigations assisted in the investigation and search warrant service. The Benton County Health Department assisted with local restaurant health code violations.

The LINE Taskforce was established as a result of Linn County being designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) in 2016. The team is comprised of investigators from the Linn County Sheriff's Office, Albany Police Department, Lebanon Police Department, Sweet Home Police Department, Oregon State Police, Eugene office of Drug Enforcement Administration and Oregon National Guard Counterdrug Task Force.

 

The mission of LINE is to reduce illegal drug trafficking in the Linn County area by identifying, disrupting, or dismantling drug trafficking and money laundering organizations through cooperative efforts, enforcement, and intelligence sharing by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.