6 indicted for illegal marijuana operation involving 4 grow houses in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Six people were indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday for allegedly operating four "large-scale" marijuana grow houses in Las Vegas, according to the Department of Justice, District of Nevada.

Changtian Mai; Hoi Man Mak, also known as Antares Mak; Shengsheng Feng; Zhifeng Mai; Jianwen Mai; and Jianquan Mai are accused of having "active roles" in the growing of 1,000 or more marijuana plants and in the maintaining of four grow sites throughout the valley from January 2025 to February 2026. Officials said one of the grow houses was near a public park.

According to court records, the four homes searched were on Daily Double Avenue, Summerday Court, West Diablo Drive and Sea Hero Street, which is within 1,000 feet of Wayne Bunker Family Park.

The six suspects are facing the following charges:

• 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
• Six counts of manufacturing a controlled substance

Officials said Changtian Mai is also charged with two counts of money laundering. The suspects are scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 1. According to the DOJ, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

The DOJ said all six suspects were Chinese nationals living in Las Vegas.

“Transnational criminal networks that exploit our domestic markets and compromise community safety will be dismantled,” First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada said. “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.”

“The Las Vegas Homeland Security Task Force continues to answer the call and hold accountable criminal organizations,” said Special Agent in Charge David Olesky of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Los Angeles Field Division, which oversees Nevada. “In this case, Chinese Organized Crime was intent on cashing in, operating four illegal marijuana grow houses throughout the Las Vegas area."