Authorities on Friday were charged with murder charges after five workers died in two separate cases, with two Los Angeles County men accused of running an illegal cannabis extraction business.
According to the LA County District Attorney’s Office, 53-year-old Ted Chien and 55-year-old Han Kuan Ziao managed the operation, which includes at least nine locations throughout the county.
An explosion occurred in an Irwindale warehouse in October 2023, allegedly being used to extract honey oil, prosecutors said in a statement. Four workers, Yi Luo, Xin Chen, Guangqi Fu and Quizhuo Liang, were killed in the explosion.
Another employee, Boudin “Tony” Cicarin, was killed a year later in a fire that broke out in a lab in South El Monte, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors argue that the location is also run by Chien and Jiao.
The two are accused of continuing to distribute illegal intensive cannabis even after five workers have died, officials said.
“This case shows the fatal and disastrous consequences of illegal cannabis operations when they place reckless greed in the safety of employees and neighbors,” La County Dist said. Atty. Nathan Hochman. “Marijuana may be legal in California, but this type of high-risk illegal activity is not the case.”
Chen, of Temple City, has been charged with five counts of murder and two felony arson, prosecutors said. Rosemead’s Jiao faces one count of murder and arson, causing major bodily injury.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, the two face eight felony counts that produce controlled substances and three felony counts that maintain a place where controlled substances are sold or used.
If convicted of being charged, prosecutors say Chien could face life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole or death penalty. Jiao could face life sentence.
Several workers have been charged with alleged involvement in a business, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Xiaolong Deng, 36; Chengyan Xu, 61; Christopher Reyes, 30; and 35-year-old Frank Herrera is said to have worked for Chien and Jiao. They each face one count of a conspiracy to produce concentrated cannabis, a controlled substance.
Reyes, Herrera, and Deng were each charged with one count of one manufacturing and compounding or production of a controlled substance. Xu was charged with two counts of the same crime, officials said.
The case was being investigated by the District Attorney’s Office of Investigation and several other agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Bureau and the U.S. Postal Service.
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