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Marijuana growing suspect, accomplices caught
Police busted a gang of drug traffickers in Shanghai led by a man with a long criminal history who was growing marijuana in his backyard. Police said the group had been growing cannabis since last year. Shanghai police were tipped off last October to the operation run by a Taiwan man named Gao Qile. Gao has been wanted in Taiwan since 1995 on charges of murder and the attempted killing of a policeman. Police arrested Gao on June 25, one day before International Anti-drug Day. On a small hidden patch of land behind a house in Chongming Island, Minhang District, where Gao was living, police found a patch of cannabis plants. The house was owned by Jin San, an accomplice and former jail mate of Gao's. At another house owned by a second accomplice, Shen Afu, police found nearly 1,000 cannabis plants growing beside a shrimp pond. Inside the houses, police found cannabis seeds, ecstasy pills and drug paraphernalia. A third patch of cannabis-planted land was found near Shen's house. All the cannabis was destroyed. Police said Gao provided seeds, planting and processing techniques to both Jin and Shen. The two then grew and distributed the cannabis. Gao was first sent to jail in January, 2000. He was sentenced to 18 months for selling ecstasy pills. Gao and Jin first met when serving time together at the Shanghai Tilanqiao Prison. After he was discharged, Gao went to live with Jin and assumed the alias of Ke Le. He was still using the name when police arrested him. The alias was first discovered in March, when Gao was stopped at Guangzhou airport after providing false identification. The second accomplice, Shen, got involved after asking Gao to teach him to plant cannabis one day when the two dined together. |
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