Pair Ran Suburban Massachusetts Marijuana Ring: Police

BRAINTREE, MA — Two men were indicted Wednesday by a Norfolk County Grand Jury after police said they ran an illegal marijuana growing operation out of Braintree, Quincy and Westford. Police said they seized 179 pounds of marijuana from four homes in the three towns.

Xu Feng Wang, 30, of Boston, and Zhenrong Wu, 49, of Quincy, were charged with trafficking more than 100 pounds of marijuana and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

Last January, Braintree Police said they got warrants for and raided homes at Shaw Street in Braintree, Belmont Street and Newport Terrace in Quincy and Tenney Road in Westford. Police said an initial lead from December was just about the Braintree house, but officers found information about the other three houses during the investigation.

Prosecutors told the Patriot Ledger that police found 25 pounds of marijuana in the Braintree home, 54 pounds of marijuana in Quincy and another 100 pounds at the Westford house.

Braintree police said that although recreational marijuana is legal in Massachusetts, unregulated operations have serious health risks to the community.

"Dangerous chemicals and faulty wiring are often used to set up these sites and most often the homes are not lived in," police said in a statement "Additionally they create a prime atmosphere for black mold to form and flourish."

The indictment moves the case from Quincy District Court to Norfolk Superior Court. If convicted, Wang and Wu can now face longer prison sentences.