August 19, 2026 - 3:01 pm

A Las Vegas federal grand jury charged ‘six Chinese nationals’ for participating in a large-scale illegal marijuana grow operation on Wednesday, government officials said.

The six defendants are facing a 10-count indictment for alleged participation in a large-scale illegal marijuana grow operation involving over 1,000 plants and four grow houses, one of which was located near a public park, the United States Department of Justice said in a release.

“According to court documents, from January 2025 to February 2026, Changtian Mai; Hoi Man Mak, also known as Antares Mak; Shengsheng Feng; Zhifeng Mai; Jianwen Mai; and Jianquan Mai had active roles in the growing of 1,000 or more marijuana plants and maintaining of four houses that were used as illegal marijuana grow sites throughout Las Vegas,” the release said.

The six defendants were each charged with one count of conspiracy to manufacture a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a protected area, one count of manufacturing a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a protected area and six counts of manufacturing a controlled substance.

Changtian Mai was also charged with two counts of money laundering. If convicted each defendant faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

“This operation demonstrates that what appear to be localized grow operations are frequently backed by global criminal enterprises engaged in labor exploitation, weapons offenses, and multi-million-dollar money laundering schemes. We will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners to dismantle these sophisticated criminal enterprises that exploit public resources for illicit profit,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada.