WILTON, Maine—Maine state Rep. Mike Soboleski never imagined himself digging through a dumpster to investigate the spread of illegal Chinese marijuana grow sites in America’s “Vacationland.”
On Dec. 13, 2023, Mr. Sobeleski put on a pair of work gloves and began sifting through the soil remains from potted illegal cannabis plants seized from an industrial building by Wilton police and destroyed in late November.
The building sits on the private property that housed the former Bass Shoe factory, which ceased operating in 1998.
Outside the building, Mr. Soboleski, a Republican, finds a dried marijuana leaf on the ground and picks it up.
He examines it, then notices the small red-white-and-blue flag on the side of the building next to the bay door.
The flag marked the entrance to the building used by Chinese foreign nationals to illegally grow large quantities of marijuana.
Mr. Soboleski thought the flag was ironic.
On Nov. 28, 2023, Wilton police were informed of an unlicensed marijuana grow site on Weld Road while officers were assisting state inspectors at another licensed facility in the town.
The owner of the Weld Road building allowed authorities to enter the windowless facility. Inside the building, police discovered 1,211 illegal cannabis plants and some 200 pounds of cultivated marijuana.
Officers seized the contraband, worth an estimated $1 million, and destroyed it.
Police said the building’s owner has “no connection to the internal operations” of either the licensed or unlicensed marijuana growing operations and was not charged.
“The identity of the person or persons responsible for the unlicensed marijuana cultivation facility remains under investigation at this time,” Wilton Police Chief Ethan Keys said in a statement.
Mr. Keys told The Epoch Times he couldn’t comment beyond what appeared in the department’s press release.
He noted, however, that there are “new hurdles to overcome” since Maine legalized marijuana for recreational sale in 2019.
On Dec. 13, Mr. Soboleski took samples from the dumpster and placed them inside a plastic bag to be used as evidence to show his fellow lawmakers.
“They just cleaned the place out. They took the place down. There was nobody arrested. No prosecution. They did nothing,” he said.
By Allan Stein
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