Two men were charged with felonies in connection with a March raid on a marijuana grow east of Ada.
Charged were Xuan Huong Tran, 53, of McAlester, and Cia Dong Bu, 50, of Chicago. Both are reportedly part owners of a marijuana grown near Happyland.
On March 7, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Xuan Tran, and discovered the vehicle had 40 pounds of raw marijuana in it.
The trooper contacted the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and said there was a significant language barrier, but that Tran said he was taking the marijuana to Chicago (presumably to sell), and that Tran needed the money to help provide for the care of his father, who was ill, he said.
OBN Agent Andrew Terry said Tran produced an Oklahoma driver’s license during the stop which showed his home address to be in McAlester.
However, Tran the trooper that his mail should go to his business address located at 23055 State Highway 1E, east of Ada. The trooper took possession of the marijuana and released Tran from custody pending charges being filed in Missouri.
Terry said he checked with OBN registration, and it showed that there were two registered LLCs at 23055 state Highway 1E.
Tran is part owner in both, and Bu is part owner in one of the business’s, Terry indicated.
“I have uncovered, while an agent with OBN, evidence of illegal activity by several licensed marijuana grows in the state,” Terry said. “In this case, there is evidence that Tran transported marijuana out of state for the purpose of illegal distribution into the black market. There is also evidence that Tran is a current owner of two grows, located at the same address, listed as 23055 state Highway 1E, in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma.”
Terry obtained a search warrant for the businesses, and, on March 22, along with deputies from the Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Department, executed the warrant.
“During the execution of the search warrant, agents encountered three adult males who were later identified as: Xuan Tran, CiaZheng Bu, and Cia Bu,” Terry said. “Once the location was secured, OBN Agent’s began conducting a plant count which yielded 1,553 plants. While agents conducted a plant count, I began interviews with the three male subjects that were encountered by utilizing OBN TFO Brandt Robbins to translate the interviews.”
Terry said all three were read their Miranda Rights, and informed him that each individual understood his rights.
“Tran stated that he did get stopped, and that he didn’t know that he wasn’t allowed to take marijuana out of state,” Terry said. “Tran stated that he did have marijuana with him that day but that he got it from someone else but didn’t know who or where it came from.”
CiaZheng Bu told agents that he was just a worker that just does what workers do, and was not charged.
“Following his verbal acknowledgement of understanding his Miranda Rights, (Cia) Bu stated that he wasn’t an owner of the grow,” Terry said. “He also stated that he was not related to CiaZheng Bu even though they had the same last name and shared a room. Bu stated that he was just a worker at the grow and had only been there for a few days. Bu stated that he travels between this grow and his residence in Chicago frequently and that the Honda car parked out front was his. When I asked Bu about his ownership in the LLC he stated that he was just on the paperwork and that he wasn’t an actual owner. Bu stated that they had gone through the landlord to file for their licenses and that the landlord had no part in the business other then that.”
Terry said in his opinion, there was probable cause to believe that Tran and Cia Bu committed crimes.
Bu was charged with cultivation of a controlled substance, conspiracy to deliver/manufacture/possess a controlled dangerous substance; and tampering with a security camera or system.
Tran was charged in late April with trafficking in illegal drugs, cultivation of a controlled substance, endeavoring/conspiracy tp deliver/manufacture/possess a controlled dangerous substance; acquire proceeds from drug activity; and unlawful use of surveillance equipment during commission of a felony.
Terry said the search of the property yielded the following:
1. Samples from Marijuana Plants
2. Plastic Bag containing Marijuana (seized for Evidence)
3. $6,390 Dollars in U.S. Currency (seized)
4. A Brown Barrel containing Marijuana Bud (photographed and destroyed)
5. A Food Saver Vacuum sealer and digital scale (photographed)
6. DVR system (seized for evidence)
7. 1,553 Marijuana Plants (photographed and destroyed)
8. 2019 Silver Acura RD (seized for evidence and filed forfeiture
Be the first to comment