PAGE A6, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 25, 2022
Federal authorities move to seize homes,
break up sprawling illegal marijuana operation
By ARDESHIR TABRIZIAN
Of the Salem Reporter
Federal authorities say a Texas man
organized a sophisticated illegal traf-
ficking operation that turned homes in
Oregon into indoor marijuana planta-
tions in places from Clatskanie to Sweet
Home, producing marijuana worth mil-
lions on the black market.
The operation also involved prop-
erties outside Silverton, Dallas and
Independence, federal authorities said.
Citing interviews and records, federal
court filings described how the Oregon
operation used a southeast Portland café
as a meeting place to trade information
on everything from contractors to con-
vert homes to sale of the marijuana.
On Friday, federal agents arrested
Fayao “Paul” Rong, 51, of Houston, on fed-
eral marijuana charges. He was indicted
in Portland U.S. District Court on Feb. 9.
A deputy U.S. marshal in a declaration
said Rong was the leader of the drug traf-
ficking organization.
“Rong purchased numerous residen-
tial houses in Oregon and converted
them with hired help into illegal mari-
juana indoor grows. His drug trafficking
organization grows, harvests and ulti-
mately transports marijuana to distribute
in states where it is not legal,” according
to Deputy U.S. Marshal James Stratton.
He was released Friday after he
appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge
in Texas. If convicted, Rong faces a max-
imum sentence of life in prison and a
mandatory minimum of 10 years and a
$10 million fine.
The operation trafficked $13 million
on marijuana in one year, starting in
August 2021, according to Stratton’s dec-
laration. Law enforcement officials on
death
notice
Joy Jenkins Behling
April 22, 1923 – Feb. 12, 2022
Joy Behling of Salem, Ore. passed on Feb.
12, 2022 at the age of 98.
Photo of marijuana seized by the Keizer Police Department on Feb. 1 after searching multiple grow operations in the area.
Sept. 8 and Sept. 9 executed search war-
rants at 25 locations.
Marijuana has been legal in Oregon
for people 21 and older since 2015. But
Oregonians can’t possess more than
eight ounces of usable marijuana, and
growing it requires a license except for
up to four plants per residence for per-
sonal use.
Local and federal authorities through-
out the state have been working to dis-
rupt commercial-scale marijuana farms
set up to serve the lucrative East Coast
market. The infiltration of cartels in
southern Oregon to run elaborate grow
operations has alarmed local authorities
and legislators.
But while southern Oregon has drawn
attention, other large marijuana oper-
ations elsewhere in the state have been
disrupted in recent months. Last fall,
police said they disrupted an indoor
grow operation they said was based in
Lebanon.
And on Feb. 1, law enforcement agents
searched homes in residential areas of
Salem and Keizer, uncovering what they
suspect was a multi-million marijuana
operation. Some of those cited in that
case have ties to Georgia, according to
authorities and government records.
Available records do not show any
connections between the Keizer-based
operation and Rong.
The Rong case was triggered by com-
plaints in April 2020 to the Oregon State
Police about marijuana grow operations
in Clatsop County. Federal authorities
are now seeking the forfeiture of four
properties in Clatskanie, about 35 miles
east of Astoria on the Columbia River.
“Multiple citizen complaints cor-
roborated law enforcement’s belief that
Rong was leading a large black market
marijuana operation,” according to a
statement Friday from the U.S. Attorney’s
Office in Portland. The State Police
investigation found excessive electricity
use at the properties, which several times
led to transformer explosions, according
to the statement.
Rong described some elements of the
operation after his Houston home was
searched last September.
“Rong stated that he met with a loosely
organized group of Chinese individuals
at a restaurant in Portland,” according to
Stratton’s declaration. “Rong described a
type of informal cooperative where they
periodically met and exchanged informa-
tion on how best to establish and operate
indoor marijuana grows in Oregon.”
Submitted photo
Rong’s wife told investigators she was
offered $1,000 to allow her name to be
used on documents to buy Oregon prop-
erties, the declaration said.
A man police found at a marijuana
grow in a Sheridan home told investiga-
tors that “he is paid about $4,000 a month
in cash to work at this location” and that
“he is paid by someone named ‘Brother
Chen’ in cash. He said ‘Brother Chen’ just
shows up and pays them,” according to
the declaration.
The declaration said that when police
searched a southeast Portland home
as part of the investigation, they found
328 pounds of processed marijuana that
would fetch about $1 million on the black
market.
During the searches last September,
investigators seized nearly 33,000 mar-
ijuana plants, 1,800 pounds of pack-
aged marijuana, 23 guns, nine vehicles,
$20,000 in money orders and more than
$591,000 in cash, according to the U.S.
Attorney’s Office.
The office is seeking a federal court
order to forfeit 16 properties used to ille-
gally grow marijuana it estimated were
worth $6.5 million.