Drug rings targeted
Police arrest 10, seize pot stashes
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Police say they made a big dent in marijuana dealing in the region last week when they seized nearly 25 pounds of the drug in Hanover and a house full of live cannabis plants in Hull.
Hull police said the 113 plants seized from a Manomet Avenue home have a street value of nearly $500,000, and five people were arrested in connection with that bust.
In Hanover, a separate drug bust resulted in the arrest of an associate Planning Board member, Christopher M. Graham. Police said they found three pounds of marijuana in Graham's sports utility vehicle and 22 more pounds in the basement of his Hanover home.
"This has had a major impact on marijuana dealing on the South Shore," said Marshfield Police Captain Phil Tavares. "We believe Graham to be a major distributor of marijuana."
Graham's arrest, along with arrests in Marshfield, were the result of an investigation by the Old Colony Drug Task Force, an informal partnership between several area police departments, and involved officers from Marshfield, Hanover, Pembroke, Scituate, Rockland, Whitman, Duxbury, and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
Tavares, who works for the Marshfield Police Department, said coopera tion among the local police departments is key. "Drugs don't have borders," said Tavares. "We don't have walls up around our community."
Graham, 29, was arrested Oct. 12 on Route 139 in Pembroke. Police had received a tip that a drug deal was going to happen there that Sunday morning, according to Pembroke Police Chief Michael T. Ohrenberger.
Shortly before 10 a.m., detectives encountered Graham in a parking lot on Schoosett Street. Graham was behind the wheel of his
Police said they searched Graham's SUV and found three pounds of marijuana. Police then went to Graham's home, where they said they found approximately 22 pounds of marijuana, $3,000 in cash, and a semiautomatic handgun that belonged to Graham.
The marijuana was in the basement of 128 Waterford Drive, where Graham lives with his parents, police said. The dried leaves were pressed and packed into a barrel-like shape, which was wrapped tightly in clear plastic. Due to the nature of the packaging, it is likely the drug had been shipped in from somewhere else, according to Tavares.
On Oct. 7, police searched an apartment on Royal Dane Drive in Marshfield, where they arrested three young men, alleged customers of Graham, and seized approximately 3 pounds of marijuana and $11,000 in cash.
Jared M. Malone, 19, of Marshfield, was charged with possession of a class D substance. Rocco T. Devincent, 19, of Marshfield, was charged with possession of a class D substance, possession with intent to distribute a class D substance, possession with intent to distribute within a school zone, and possession of class B and E drugs. Joshua P. Junior, 20, of Halifax, was charged with possession of a class D substance, possession with intent to distribute a class D substance, and possession with intent to distribute within a school zone, Tavares said.
Malone, Devincent, and Junior were arraigned Oct. 8 in Plymouth District Court. They are due back in court Dec. 10 for a pretrial hearing. Devincent did not return a phone call seeking comment. Malone and Junior could not be reached.
Police believe that Graham and the men arrested in Marshfield were part of the same ring. "The supply was in Marshfield and Hanover, and was going to be distributed in those communities as well as others, such as Pembroke," said Tavares.
Police said the drugs seized in Pembroke, Hanover, and Marshfield had a street value of approximately $80,000. "That's a very large seizure," said Ohrenberger.
Graham and Gunther were charged with distribution of a class D substance, possession with intent to distribute a class D substance, possession of a class D substance, and conspiracy to violate the controlled substance act. They pleaded not guilty at their arraignments on Oct. 14 in Plymouth District Court. Both were released and are scheduled to return to court Dec. 3 for pretrial hearings, according to the court clerk's office.
The day after his arrest, Graham resigned from his positions on the Planning Board and the Community Preservation Committee, according to the Hanover town clerk's office. He had been an associate member of the Planning Board since September 2007. Gunther serves on the board of Weymouth Youth Soccer, according to the organization's website. Graham and Gunther could not be reached for comment.
The marijuana plants found in Hull were being cultivated by a different ring, according to Tavares. The seizure took place on Oct. 13, and was the result of a monthlong investigation by Hull Police Detective Craig Lepro and Officer Sean Conneely.
Hull and Hingham officers executed a search warrant at 35 Manomet Ave., where police said they found an elaborate indoor system for growing marijuana plants.
Hull police arrested two women: Jian Lan Zhu, 42, and Xiu Zhen Wang, 43, (no addresses available); and three men: Shizhong Xu, 45, of Chicago; Zhu Yugang, 48, of Chicago; and Yuyung Wang, 63, of Quincy. They were charged with conspiring to violate drug laws and other drug offenses; all pleaded not guilty at their arraignment in Hingham District Court on Oct. 14.
Yuyung Wang was released on $25,000 bail, and the other four defendants remain in custody on $50,000 cash bail, according to the Hingham District Court clerk's office. Their case has been continued to Oct. 31.
William Leonard, a Scituate-based attorney who represents Jian Lan Zhu, said the lawyers are looking at filing a motion to dismiss, based on lack of probable cause.
George Lane III, a Weymouth-based attorney who represents Zhu Yugang, said his client may have been a "victim of circumstance, someone who was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Information he has reviewed "does not indicate that [the client] was directly involved in anything that was going on in that house," Lane said.
Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com.
