Chinese Marijuana Operation
| Submitted | Aug. 24, 2023 |
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Communications
From: Corey Bouchard
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Documents and Correspondence related to a July memo that stated: Law enforcement in Maine identified 270 suspected properties used for Chinese illegal marijuana grow operations that could produce an estimated $4.37 billion in revenue.
Chinese Officials taking advantage of rural areas, like Maine, to produce marijuana to sell across state lines and funnel the profits back to China.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Corey Bouchard
From: United States Customs and Border Protection
Corey BouchardN/AMuckRock News, DEPT MR151186263 Huntington AveBoston, Massachusetts 0211508/28/2023CBP-FO-2023-128531Dear Corey Bouchard,Your request was received in this office on 8/24/2023 seeking documents and correspondence related to a July memo that stated: Law enforcement in Maine identified 270 suspected properties used for Chinese illegal marijuana grow operations that could produce an estimated $4.37 billion in revenue. Chinese Officials taking advantage of rural areas, like Maine, to produce marijuana to sell across state lines and funnel the profits back to China.
Due to the law enforcement sensitivities, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can neither confirm nor deny the existence of documents related to a memo that was allegedly leaked by U.S. Border Patrol (USBP).
Based on the subject matter of your request, and the fact that the grow-ops are internal to the United States and do not pertain to cross-border activity, the records you are seeking may be under the purview of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ). For information on submitting a FOIA request with the DEA, please visit: https://www.dea.gov/foia. For information on submitting a FOIA request with the DOJ, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/oip/make-foia-request-doj.
Additionally, any investigation into routing of currency outside of the United States would be handled by the Department of Homeland Security's investigative branch, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE, HSI). For information on submitting a FOIA request with ICE/HSI, please visit: https://www.ice.gov/foia/request. Please note that this message has been sent from an unmonitored e-mail account. Any messages sent to this account will not be read.Sincerely,U.S. Customs and Border Protection
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v.E.1
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