OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced the Organized Crime Task Force arrested 20 people suspected of participating in a criminal organization known as the Hao Chen Organization.
According to AG Drummond, the Hao Chen Organization was responsible for nearly one million pounds of marijuana with a street value of $1.5 billion.
The AG’s Organized Crime Task Force alongside 27 other law enforcement partners launched an investigation into Hao Tong Chen, leader of the Hao Chen Organization, called Operation Blunt Force.
The investigation found that Chen was running fake medical marijuana licensing schemes within the state from 2021 to 2025.
“This operation demonstrates my office’s unwavering commitment to protecting the safety of Oklahomans and dismantling sophisticated criminal organizations that exploit our state’s medical marijuana system,” said Drummond. “These defendants allegedly orchestrated a multi-state criminal enterprise that undermined the integrity of our licensing process and violated the trust of Oklahomans. When criminal organizations divert marijuana to the black market, they put our communities at risk and fund further illegal activity. I am grateful to the 27 agencies across the country that worked together to bring these individuals to justice and make Oklahoma safer.”
Over 50 search warrants were executed and investigators recovered 12 firearms, four deportations, multiple arrests and indictments.
Several people involved in the Hao Chen Organization were discovered to be in Oklahoma, New York, Texas, Nevada, California, Illinois, Washington, and Colorado. Also, financial transactions for the organization were traced back to several of the aforementioned states as well as New Mexico, Georgia, Missouri, Oregon and the country of China.
The people who were arrested for their involvement with the criminal organization were indicted in November, A multi-county grand jury indictment saw 19 defendants charged with 18 felony counts, including racketeering conspiracy to defraud the state, document fraud, aggravated manufacturing of marijuana, and unlawful proceeds.
The arrests and the investigation were conducted with the support of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies across several states.
“Over the past few weeks, the DEA New York’s Trident Group conducted an operation with the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office and our law enforcement partners, which targeted and dismantled a large-scale illicit marijuana grow trafficking operation which is tied to an international money-laundering network. These criminal organizations were not only flooding our communities with illicit drugs, but also using financial schemes to hide and move their illegal profits” stated DEA New York Enforcement Division Special Agent in Charge Farhana Islam. “The DEA and our law enforcement partners in New York and across the country remain committed in targeting those drug trafficking organizations and individuals who attempt to gain the system, from cultivation to cash flow.”
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said that her office will continue to pursue its own investigations while also continuing to work with other agencies, including the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office.
“Unlicensed and unregulated marijuana products pose a serious threat to the communities where they are illegally sold,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “My office was proud to assist the office of Attorney General Gentner Drummond and its law enforcement partners in dismantling an illegal marijuana trafficking operation in Oklahoma, with the alleged ringleader based in Queens County. We will continue to pursue our own investigations while working alongside agencies nationwide to ensure the public is protected from illicit products.”
To read the full indictment, click here.
