Lewis County Becoming ‘Too Hot’ For Large-Scale, Illegal Marijuana Grows

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For a stretch of many months, police raids on large-scale marijuana growing operations was a hot news item in Lewis and surrounding counties, but since then local authorities have noted the trend has lost some of its gusto in the face of intense law enforcement action.

Centralia Police Department Sgt. Brian Warren with the Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) said, while there are still properties in-county that are under investigation, that overall the county has become “too hot” for such activity.

A common trend in western states, authorities believe, was for organized crime rings to convert houses into an ideal environment for growing considerable amounts of pot and staff them, frequently, with Chinese nationals. Numerous busts took place in Lewis County and, more notably, a week of raids spanning Grays Harbor, Thurston and King counties in November 2017 led to 44 arrests, 26 vehicle confiscations and the seizure of around $80 million worth of product.

Two more busts in Lewis County would follow, based on evidence found at a site in Pacific County. However, charges against four individuals arrested in those cases were later dropped after their attorneys argued there wasn’t enough probable cause for the search warrant in Pierce County to have ever been issued.

Despite the fact that Lewis County has seen a lull in such cases, one suspect recently made her first appearance in court this week, after initially failing to appear to a preliminary appearance months before. Ling Ling Huang, 35, of Centralia was accused of maintaining 625 plants with her husband, Jiewei Hu, 36, also of Centralia at their home on Maple Valley Drive. A warrant was issued for her arrest, but that warrant was later quashed after it was said in court a summons was sent to an old address and she was pregnant at the time. They have jury trials currently slated for Feb. 11, 2019. The raid that led to their charges was at the tail end of 2017.



In the time since, Warren said, such activity seems to have died down, but noted that just because this particular crime doesn’t seem to be as rampant as it once was, it may not be done for good. If the heat wears off, it may be a trend that rears its head again.

“We’ll just continue to pound them when they move from area to area, and that’s what they’re doing,” said Warren, adding that low property values and relaxed laws and attitudes toward marijuana seem to be the largest draws for where a grow might spring up. About a half dozen properties are currently under investigation, he said.

Sheriff Rob Snaza, when asked about the current frequency of illegal marijuana cultivation, was quick to say the department still investigates illegal marijuana grows, but stated a large scale one hasn’t been busted since the beginning of 2018. They’ve seen smaller situations crop up, but many times the perpetrators aren’t aware they’re doing something illegal. Sheriff’s office personnel will inform them what they have to do to comply with the law, and come back to check on them later, said Snaza. They’re frequently met with cooperation.

Snaza said they have prioritized operations intent on illegal distribution, rather than smaller ones for recreation.