A Lebanon resident was among 11 people arrested during five search warrants at two locations in Linn County, one location in Benton County, and two in Marion County, conducted by the Linn Interagency Narcotics Enforcement (LINE) Task Force, Albany Police announced Wednesday, March 24.
The investigation focused on the unlawful manufacture of marijuana in Linn County and money laundering through local restaurants in Linn, Benton and Marion counties, police said. As a result of the warrants, investigators seized cocaine, over 1900 marijuana plants, 40 pounds of processed marijuana, over $373,000 in U.S. currency, firearms, and several vehicles.
The 11 individuals were taken into custody during the search warrants and lodged in the Linn County Jail without incident on the following charges:
Yaorun Li, 27, of Lebanon – unlawful manufacture of marijuana, criminal conspiracy.
Pinzheng Zhao, 39, of Sweet Home – identity theft, racketeering, money laundering, criminal conspiracy and aid and abet unlawful manufacturing of marijuana, unlawful manufacturing of marijuana.
Yue “Michael” Chong Chen, 41, of Salem – racketeering, money laundering, criminal conspiracy and aid and abet unlawful manufacturing of marijuana, unlawful manufacturing of marijuana.
Yongkang Chen, 36, of Salem – racketeering, money laundering, criminal conspiracy and aid and abet unlawful manufacturing of marijuana, unlawful manufacturing of marijuana.
Enrong Zhou, 40, of Albany – racketeering, money laundering, criminal conspiracy and aid and abet unlawful manufacturing of marijuana, unlawful manufacturing of marijuana.
Guiqua Chen, 33, of Renton, Wash. – unlawful manufacture of marijuana, money laundering, racketeering, Identity Theft, Conspiracy.
Jinhui Liu, 28, of Portland – criminal conspiracy, aid and abet unlawful manufacturing of marijuana.
Liang Huan Chen, 65, of Salem – criminal conspiracy, aid and abet unlawful manufacturing of marijuana.
Jianwen Zhu, 52, of San Francisco, Calif. – criminal conspiracy, aid and abet unlawful manufacturing of marijuana.
Rongchu Mai, 52, of San Francisco – criminal conspiracy, aid and abet unlawful manufacturing of marijuana.
Weihong Gong, 56, of San Francisco – 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 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.
LINE’s mission 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.