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Lathrop Pot House Suspects Linked to Elk Grove Pot House Owners
Written for the web by George Warren, Reporter

Federal agents have established a connection between suspects in Friday's Lathrop pot house raids and the owners of four pot houses raided in Elk Grove last summer.

The revelation comes in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento charging the eight pot house suspects arrested Friday with two counts each of manufacturing and distributing marijuana.

The allegation that more than 1,000 plants were involved could lead to an enhanced penalty of 10 years to life in prison.

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents raided six upscale homes in Lathrop and one in Tracy on Friday, seizing 4,931 marijuana plants.

Property records analyzed by News10 show most of the houses were purchased last year at prices ranging up to $640,000 with 100% financing.
According to the complaint, a suspicious neighbor tipped authorities to one of the Lathrop pot houses in September. Further investigation led to the other houses, and extended surveillance led to the suspects.

Drug agents arrested Rui Yee, 53, at a house on Pioneer Avenue in Lathrop. The seven other suspects were taken into custody in three separate raids at one residences in Oakland and two in San Francisco.

They are identified as:

Wei Jie Ma, 35
Kevin Tran, 47
Mei Keng Lam, 41
Siew Yoke "Mandy" Ng, 26
Jason Tuan Hoang, 26
Jun Xiong Wang, 26
Dekang Zhen, 33

DEA agents believe the Lathrop and Tracy pot houses were being run by the same San Francisco-based crime ring that operated 41 pot houses busted in Sacramento, Elk Grove and Stockton late last summer. Those 41 earlier raids netted more than 18,671 plants.

DEA agents say equipment and electrical schemes found in the Lathrop and Tracy houses were identical to those discovered in the previous pot house raids.

Additionally, two of the men arrested Friday have used an address in San Francisco's Sunset District that has also been used by Nick Truong, Jason Tam and Van Tieu.

Truong, Tam and Tieu own four of the pot houses raided in Elk Grove in late August according to property records. Tam and Tieu are also co-workers at a car dealership in Redwood City.

In October, News10 encountered Tieu at the home he owns on Bearint Way in Elk Grove. He declined to discuss the raid on the house, saying his lawyer had advised him not to.

To date, none of the owners of the 48 pot houses has been formally implicated in the marijuana-growing operation.

A total of 16 people have been arrested in connection with the pot house ring. A 17th suspect has been indicted by a federal grand jury, but remains a fugitive.

Created: 1/16/2007 1:09:49 PM Updated: 1/16/2007 6:37:06 PM