Jeff Weng, 47, from China and Brooklyn, New York, has been sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for his involvement in a drug trafficking conspiracy. This announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
Weng and co-defendant Tong Lin, 29, were charged by a federal grand jury on June 6, 2023, with conspiracy to possess marijuana plants with intent to distribute. Following a two-day trial that concluded on January 18, 2024, both were found guilty of drug conspiracy after the jury deliberated for about an hour.
The trial revealed that between December 2022 and May 2023, Weng managed a marijuana grow operation in Wetumka, Oklahoma. The operation was licensed by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. When Weng was absent, Lin took charge of operations. A witness testified that they transported marijuana using delivery vans disguised as commercial vehicles from the Wetumka Grow site to various locations up to fifteen times between December 2022 and March 31, 2023. These trips involved transporting between 150 and 200 pounds of marijuana each time to a stash house in Oklahoma City. From there, every Friday, the marijuana was moved to a warehouse where over 2,000 pounds at a time were loaded into semi-truck trailers for transportation to the East Coast. Over seven months, approximately 56,000 pounds of marijuana were shipped out of Oklahoma.
Law enforcement searched the Wetumka Grow in May 2023 and discovered nearly 20,000 marijuana plants in different growth stages along with more than $100,000 in vacuum-sealed cash hidden in Weng’s closet attic space and a firearm.
U.S. District Judge Scott L. Palk sentenced Weng on December 19, 2024. He emphasized Weng's role in what he described as a "significant" illegal marijuana operation and highlighted the need for deterrence through sentencing. Previously on June 17, Lin received an identical sentence of ten years followed by five years of supervised release.
This case is part of an investigation led by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office with support from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF aims to identify and dismantle high-level drug traffickers and criminal organizations threatening the United States through coordinated efforts across multiple agencies.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wilson D. McGarry and David Nichols Jr., prosecuted this case.
Further details can be obtained from public filings.