There's a short story in here somewhere. I know Savoy, MA well, and I can only imagine what it would be like to be a Mandarin speaker locked inside a grow house in a town that has more black bears than human residents. Years ago, looking for a geocache in the woods, I stumbled on someone's grow operation in Savoy. I got out of there quick, in case someone was monitoring the field. About a week later, local news reported that cops had burned a pot field... a different one than the one I found...

>"Recent raids on alleged marijuana grow operations in Monson and Savoy allegedly run by Chinese nationals reflect similar investigations across the U.S."

[https://www.masslive.com/news/2020/08/3-million-in-marijuana-seized-in-savoy-police-say-feds-say-chinese-nationals-setting-up-large-grow-operations-in-rural-western-massachusetts.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true](https://www.masslive.com/news/2020/08/3-million-in-marijuana-seized-in-savoy-police-say-feds-say-chinese-nationals-setting-up-large-grow-operations-in-rural-western-massachusetts.html?outputType=amp&__twitter_impression=true) “The Eversource employee attempted to give the money back to Yebin Mai, who pushed the lineman’s hand away. At that point the crew decided to leave the power on, leave the property, and request police presence as they felt there was a potential conflict with the resident,” said David Procopio, spokesman for the state police.

>"Recent raids on alleged marijuana grow operations in Monson and Savoy allegedly run by Chinese nationals reflect similar investigations across the U.S."

SAVOY — When Eversource workers were dispatched for a safety check at 72 Jackson Road in this rural town in the Berkshires, they encountered something unexpected: a $3 million marijuana grow operation, police say.

News reports from across the country suggest a trend of Chinese nationals setting up grow operations in rural towns where property values are generally low, with murky financing. Police and federal agents have conducted raids in Washington, California, Colorado and now Massachusetts — all states that have legalized marijuana sales but under strictly controlled state and municipal guidelines and for licensed operators.

“The Eversource employee attempted to give the money back to Yebin Mai, who pushed the lineman’s hand away. At that point the crew decided to leave the power on, leave the property

Mai, of Staten Island, New York, and the owner of the home, Bin Huang, 32, of Brooklyn, New York, were arrested Wednesday and charged with marijuana trafficking

The same week, agents with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration arrested two Chinese nationals at a warehouse in Monson, where they allegedly found 1,100 marijuana plants

The Eversource employee attempted to give the money back to Yebin Mai, who pushed the lineman’s hand away.

Weiqing Li, 41, and Li Qin Li, 49, were charged with manufacturing marijuana and processing marijuana with intent to distribute in U.S. District Court. Weiqing Li told agents he had traveled to Massachusetts from Chicago for the sole purpose of growing marijuana.

It is unclear what his connections were to Massachusetts. Robertson freed Weiqing Li on a $5,000 bond, revoked his passport and sent him back to Chicago with his family to await the resolution of his case. Li Qin Li also was released on bail.