$5M of land claimed from convicted pot king

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has claimed more than $5.7 million of property owned by a Houston man who ran a drug-trafficking ring in six Oregon counties. Fayao “Paul” Rong, 53, who was sentenced in July 2023 to 2½ years in federal prison for  conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, purchased more than a dozen homes in residential neighborhoods in Clatsop, Columbia, Marion, Linn, Polk, and Yamhill counties and turned them into indoor marijuana growing operations, selling the product out of state, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive. The government seized 14 properties, while the owner of another paid $400,000 to avoid forfeiting it. In one year, Rong’s drug ring reportedly sold more than $13.2 million worth of illegal marijuana.