A Flushing man who was detained on Rikers Island for a month was extradited to Oklahoma on Saturday, Feb. 28, to face felony charges for allegedly being the ringleader of a sophisticated criminal enterprise which allegedly ran fraudulent medical marijuana licensing schemes across the Sooner State from 2021 to 2025.
Hao Tung Chen, 34, of 26th Avenue in Flushing was arrested by members of the NYPD and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Jan. 29, and he faces 18 felony counts stemming from a multi-county grand jury indictment in November. Chen was among 20 individuals across multiple states who were arrested after the organization was dismantled by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF). Chen’s organization was responsible for approximately 1 million pounds of marijuana worth a street value of $1,5 billion.
“Hao Chen and his associates will face the full force of the law,” Drummond said. “They undermined Oklahoma’s licensing process and put Oklahoma communities at risk. My office remains committed to protecting the safety of all Oklahomans and dismantling sophisticated criminal networks that exploit the medical marijuana system.”
He thanked the Queens District Attorney’s Office and the NYPD for assisting the OCTF’s Operation Blunt Force investigation and takedown of the Hao Chen Organization.
“Unlicensed and unregulated marijuana products pose a serious threat to the communities where they are illegally sold,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “My office was proud to assist the office of Attorney General Gentner Drummond and its law enforcement partners in dismantling an illegal marijuana trafficking operation in Oklahoma, with an alleged ringleader based in Queens County. We will continue to pursue our own investigations while working alongside agencies nationwide to ensure the public is protected from illicit product.”
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch concurred.
“Crime has no borders, and this case shows the lengths criminal organizations will go to fund their fraudulent schemes,” Tisch said. “The NYPD is proud to have worked closely with our law enforcement partners from across the country to take down this sophisticated drug trafficking ring. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners — near and far — to hold criminal enterprises accountable, and we applaud Attorney General Drummond’s work to pursue justice.”
According to the indictment, Chen orchestrated a fraudulent “straw owner” scheme that unlawfully obtained Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority licenses and Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs registrations for marijuana growing facilities in violation of Oklahoma’s residency requirement. The organization recruited Oklahoma residents as straw owners, paid them to use their identities on fake applications, then illegally manufactured marijuana and diverted it to the black market.
The investigation revealed Chen had bank accounts with large cash deposits and regular wire transfers from New York, which were used to pay straw owners and other associates of the conspiracy. Drummond’s task force worked with 27 law enforcement partners nationwide during the operation including DEA New York’s Trident Group which arrested Chen at his home on the corner of 26th Avenue and Murray Street on Jan. 29. During the takedown, 19 others from eight states were arrested and more than 50 search warrants were executed by Operation Blunt Force and 14 firearms were recovered along with Chinese uniforms and badges, four criminals were deported and thousands of black-market marijuana was destroyed.
On Monday, March 3, Drummond expressed serious concerns after an Oklahoma County court set a $100,000 bond for Chen saying it does not adequately protect Oklahoma communities from the man accused of leading such a massive criminal enterprise.
“A $100,000 bond for Hao Chen does not come close to reflecting the harm done to Oklahoma communities by this operation,” Drummond said. “He faces charges of corrupting our licensing system, flooding the black market with marijuana and running a sprawling criminal network for years. Chen was arrested in New York and has every incentive to flee. A bond that wouldn’t inconvenience a mid-level drug dealer has no business being applied to the leader of a billion-dollar criminal enterprise. We will make sure Chen faces the full measure of justice that Oklahomans deserve.”
