A federal grand jury charged Jeff Weng, 47, and Tong Lin, 29, on 6 June 2023 with conspiring to possess marijuana plants with intent to distribute.[1][2] After a two-day trial the jury found both men guilty of drug conspiracy on 18 January 2024.[1][2]
Between December 2022 and May 2023 Weng managed a marijuana grow in Wetumka, Oklahoma, licensed by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, while Lin managed matters when Weng was absent.[1][2] A witness said vans disguised as commercial vehicles, including one marked as an Amazon delivery van, carried 150 to 200 pounds of marijuana per trip from the grow to an Oklahoma City stash house.[1][2] Every Friday the marijuana moved to a warehouse and then by semi-trailer to the East Coast, totalling upwards of 56,000 pounds over about seven months.[1][2]
Officers searched the Wetumka grow in May 2023 and found 19,661 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, more than $100,000 of vacuum-sealed cash in Weng’s closet attic and a firearm.[1][2] The case was investigated by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force inquiry.[1]
Lin was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison plus five years of supervised release on 17 June 2024.[1] At a hearing on 19 December 2024 Judge Scott L. Palk sentenced Weng to 120 months plus five years of supervised release, calling the operation significant and stressing deterrence.[1]
