Three Lynnwood residents indicted on federal drug charges

Published 11:06 pm Wednesday, April 23, 2008

LYNNWOOD — Three suspected marijuana growers from Lynnwood have been indicted on federal drug charges as part of a large-scale operation to shut down indoor dope farms.

The trio was nabbed as part of a federal investigation that targeted two garden supply companies and a mortgage company believed to be supporting more than two dozen indoor operations that produced thousands of marijuana plants.

The investigation, dubbed “Operation Green Reaper,” was led by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the South Snohomish County Drug Task Force. Fourteen people were indicted on federal drug charges, including the owners of Greenhouse Garden Supply in Tukwila and Scitek Garden Supply in Auburn, federal agents announced Wednesday afternoon.

The offices of Jet City Mortgage in Kent and the home of the mortgage company’s owners also were searched Wednesday in connection with possible mortgage fraud related to numerous homes where marijuana grows were uncovered.

The garden shops have been under investigation for more than a year. Investigators allege the supply stores provided equipment, advice and trash disposal service to those setting up indoor dope farms. Detectives believe the Auburn shop was connected to grows that totaled more than 14,700 plants. Investigators found advertisements in Vietnamese newspapers that showed pictures of marijuana leaves and specialized growing equipment. In addition, investigators allege that more than $1.1 million in drug money was laundered through the Auburn shop.

At least 19 homes where marijuana grows were discovered were purchased using the services of Jet City Mortgage, according to court documents. Investigators believe loan information was falsified and small business owners were paid up to $600 to fake employment records.

Snohomish County detectives arrested three people in February after uncovering more than 1,100 plants in houses in Lynn­wood and Everett. Detectives believe the indoor pot farms were set up and tended by drug traffickers connected to Vietnamese criminal groups.

Two of those people, Son Bui, 40, and his girlfriend Tran Luong, 46, both of Lynnwood, were indicted earlier this month in the federal investigation. Ellis Nguyen, 57, of Lynnwood also was named in the indictment unsealed Wednesday. They are charged with conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. If convicted, the suspects face a mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison.

“The scourge of marijuana grow houses that has gripped British Columbia is moving south and invading our neighborhoods,” U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan said in a prepared statement. “By targeting the businesses that promote, supply and establish these grows, we hope to stop organized criminal groups that destroy lives while making millions through drug trafficking.”

Drug investigators in Snohomish County and elsewhere have seen a spike in marijuana-growing operations involving people with ties to Vietnam and Canada.

They believe tighter border controls since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks have made it too risky to smuggle “B.C. Bud” into the U.S. Instead, groups with ties to Canada’s multibillion-dollar marijuana industry are buying houses here and setting up shop.

These organized groups have brought violence, experts said.

Two people were shot to death in July in a south Everett house, where hundreds of pot plants were found. A second dope farm was found in a nearby house. The slain couple, Linda Nguyen, 20, and Kevin Meas, 23, were paid to tend the plants in one of the houses. Prosecutors say two Tacoma men shot the couple during an apparent robbery attempt.

Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.