Fayao Rong, Interstate Marijuana Trafficking, Oregon 2023

PORTLAND, Ore.—Fayao “Paul” Rong, 53, of Houston, Texas, was involved in an interstate drug trafficking organization that illegally grew marijuana for redistribution and sale in other states.

According to court documents, Rong purchased numerous residential houses in Oregon using several different identities and, with others in his organization, used them to grow and process marijuana and prepare it for transport to states where its use remains illegal. In a 12-month period beginning August 2020, Rong’s organization trafficked more than $13.2 million dollars in black market marijuana.

A coordinated law enforcement operation led by DEA and OSP targeted Rong’s organization in early September 2021. Federal, state, and local law enforcement partners executed search warrants on 25 Oregon residences and Rong’s home in Houston.

During the precipitating investigation and ensuing search warrants, investigators seized nearly 33,000 marijuana plants, 1,800 pounds of packaged marijuana, 23 firearms, nine vehicles, $20,000 in money orders, and more than $591,000 in cash.

Rong was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release on July 19, 2023, after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced that it has forfeited on behalf of the United States 14 real properties located in Oregon—together worth more than $5.7 million—that were used by Rong’s organization to illegally grow marijuana. The owner of a 15th property agreed to pay the government $400,000 in lieu of having their property forfeited.

Natalie Wight, U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon, said, “This prosecution and yearslong effort to forfeit properties used by the Rong organization to grow and process thousands of pounds of marijuana demonstrate the long reach of our commitment to holding drug traffickers accountable and mitigating the damage these criminal organizations inflict on neighborhoods and communities.”

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/6-million-worth-oregon-properties-forfeited-connection-interstate-marijuana-trafficking