BUENA, NJ – The drug operation being conducted in Buena, New Jersey, was no bueno for police investigators and three people who ran the illegal grow facility have been arrested.
In a major drug bust that rocked the small community of Buena Borough, New Jersey, three individuals were arrested after authorities uncovered an elaborate marijuana grow operation worth millions. The arrests came after a three-month investigation spearheaded by the New Jersey State Police Marijuana Eradication Team South, leading to the seizure of over 4,000 marijuana plants from multiple residential properties.
On Monday, September 16, 2024, Hanzi Chen, 47, Suxia Li, 41, and Deng Huan Hong, 50, were taken into custody and charged with first-degree possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and first-degree maintaining a narcotics production facility. The scale of the operation stunned law enforcement, as the three suspects had transformed their homes into high-tech marijuana farms, equipped with advanced systems for heating, lighting, ventilation, and irrigation.
The investigation, which involved collaboration between the New Jersey State Police (N.J.S.P.), Franklinville Police Department, and Elk Township Police Department, culminated in the execution of three search warrants on the properties. Officers found that the houses were meticulously outfitted to optimize marijuana growth, with no signs that these were licensed operations. According to authorities, none of the properties were authorized medical or recreational cannabis facilities, making this an illegal operation from start to finish.
The sheer volume of marijuana plants seized was staggering. With over 4,000 plants taken from the properties, police estimate that the grow operation had a retail value in the multi-million-dollar range. This discovery highlights the profitability and danger of illegal cannabis grow sites, which can often fly under the radar for months or even years before being detected.
Each of the suspects was occupying one of the residences used as a grow site at the time of the raid, leading to their immediate arrest. The sophisticated nature of the operation suggests that these individuals were highly organized and deeply involved in illegal marijuana production on a large scale. While New Jersey has legalized marijuana for both medical and recreational use, stringent licensing and regulations control who can legally cultivate and distribute cannabis—something this operation clearly sidestepped.
Following their arrests, Hanzi Chen, Suxia Li, and Deng Huan Hong were remanded to the Atlantic County Justice Facility. They are currently awaiting detention hearings, scheduled for Wednesday, September 25, 2024. Given the serious nature of the charges, the suspects face significant prison time if convicted, as first-degree drug offenses in New Jersey carry severe penalties.
The case is now being prosecuted by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office Gangs Guns and Narcotics Unit, which will oversee the legal proceedings against the three defendants. This bust not only dealt a significant blow to the local illegal drug trade but also sends a message that law enforcement in New Jersey is cracking down on large-scale marijuana operations that attempt to operate outside of the legal framework.
