DOJ seizes $5.7M in OR property allegedly tied to multi-state weed trafficking

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon has seized 14 Oregon properties worth more than $5.7 million, which were allegedly used as illegal marijuana grow houses for a multi-state drug ring, the Department of Justice announced on April 1.

The Oregon properties — located in Clatsop, Columbia, Linn, Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties — were tied to a drug trafficking organization led by Fayao “Paul” Rong, 53, of Houston, Texas. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested Rong in Houston on Feb. 18, 2022. Rong ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison on July 19, 2023.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent David F. Reames called the bust a benefit to the entire community.

“The goal of drug traffickers is to generate profits through their crimes,” Reames said. “The DEA and our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon and the Oregon State Police worked hard in this case to investigate and forfeit the ill-gotten gains of this organization, benefiting our entire community.”

Rong purchased the residential homes using various identities, court records state. Between August 2020 and August 2021, Rong’s organization trafficked more than $13.2 million worth of marijuana out of Oregon, the DOJ stated in a press release. The weed was then packaged and sold on the black market in states where the drug is still illegal.

During the 14-month investigation into Rong’s organization, which began in September of 2021, Federal and state police and local law enforcement raided 25 Oregon properties and Rong’s home in Houston. The search warrants resulted in the seizure of roughly 33,000 marijuana plants, 1,800 pounds of processed weed, 23 guns, nine vehicles, $20,000 in money orders and more than $591,000 in cash.

The case began after Oregon State Police noticed that the alleged drug ring properties were consuming an unusual amount of electricity. These properties caused several transformer explosions and were the subject of numerous public complaints. OSP Lt. Tyler Bechtel said that the agency is committed to disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking organizations around the state.

“Our priorities include safeguarding Oregon’s natural resources and mitigating the impact illicit marijuana has on them,” Bechtel said. “This case is a great example of the results that can be achieved when all levels of law enforcement work together toward our common goals.”

The owner of a 15th Oregon property allegedly involved in the drug ring agreed to pay the government $400,000 in lieu of forfeiting their property. The forfeited properties and seized cash were deposited in the Justice Department’s Assets Forfeiture Fund, which is used to return money to crime victims and is also used for “a variety of other law enforcement purposes,” the DOJ said.