Bosco Kwon Admits to Fueling Illegal Hash Oil Trade

Bosco Kwon, the owner of BK Power Imports, Inc., pleaded guilty today to selling drug paraphernalia, admitting he knowingly supplied thousands of butane canisters to smoke shops across the U.S. for use in manufacturing illegal hash oil. The San Diego-based businessman, whose company was the nation’s largest supplier of butane marketed for concentrate extraction, admitted he was fully aware the process posed extreme fire and explosion risks.

Kwon’s company, based in Los Angeles, imported over 350,000 Power-branded butane canisters each month—sold under names like Power 5x, Power 7x, and Power 11x—destined for underground hash oil labs. His plea agreement confirms he sold to retailers such as Greener Side of Life, Marry Jane House of Glass Inc, Twilight Zone, Smoke Tokes Inc, Puff and Stuff, Cali Kulture-Magic Glass, and The Grow Shop, knowing full well the end use. Butane, a colorless, odorless, and highly flammable gas, is a critical component in extracting THC from marijuana to create Butane Hash Oil (BHO), a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law.

BHO, a waxy concentrate up to four times more potent than high-grade marijuana, is produced by forcing butane through marijuana-packed tubes. The resulting oil drips out, often collected without proper ventilation—creating invisible pools of gas that can ignite with a single spark. Since 2011, Power-branded butane has been tied to at least 54 fires and explosions, 29 serious injuries, and four deaths across California, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington, according to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Despite these dangers, Kwon continued business as usual. In 2015, he was sued following a fatal explosion in which one man died and another suffered third-degree burns over 40% of his body after using Power butane to make hash oil. The victim spent nearly two months in intensive care. The lawsuit did nothing to stop Kwon—he kept shipping canisters, fueling the black-market extraction trade.

Under the terms of his plea, Kwon agreed to forfeit $1,026,614 in illicit proceeds and surrender more than 94,152 butane canisters. He faces sentencing on April 28, 2017, at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino. Prosecutors emphasized that regardless of shifting attitudes toward marijuana, the volatile process of making BHO remains a public safety catastrophe.

“Whatever one believes about marijuana use, the manufacture of hash oil is an extremely dangerous process and puts lives in danger,” said U.S. Attorney Alana Robinson. Dave Shaw, special agent in charge for HSI San Diego, added, “HSI is committed to targeting the supply chains where butane gas is sold on the black market for use in hash oil labs.” The case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew J. Galvin, signals a hard push to dismantle the dangerous infrastructure behind America’s underground cannabis concentrate boom.