Chinese Man Found at Marijuana Grow Says He Was Kidnapped and Forced to Work Against His Will

A Chinese man found during a raid at an illegal marijuana grow claimed that he was kidnapped and forced to work there against his will.

“Xisen brought Guanashi to Maine against his will and Guanashi did not want to be here,” said Penobscot County Sheriff Troy Morton.

The police report acquired by The Maine Wire came from a February bust in which the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department raided an illegal grow operation in a Passadumkeag house.

Deputies found three men during the raid, one of whom, Xisen Guo, a 67-year-old with a New York driver’s license, was ultimately arrested, and is currently the only person to face federal charges in connection with the illegal Chinese grow sites.

[RELATED: TRIAD WEED: First Chinese National Faces Federal Charges for Weed Operation in Maine…]

The other men arrested, named Xujun and Guanashi in the police report, were not charged after they agreed to be interviewed by law enforcement.

During the interview with Guanashi, which was conducted through an interpreter, he began to “rant” about his kidnapping from New York.

Guanashi claimed that he was approached by Guo while spending time in a park, who invited Guanashi to join him for “pleasure and a meal.”

It is unclear whether he received pleasure or a meal from Guo.

Guo, did, though, transport him to Maine — against his will, he said — where Guanashi worked — against his will, he said — for an unspecified period of time before police raided the grow site.

It is unclear how Guo kept Guanashi there, or if he threatened violence in order to keep him from escaping.

Police confirmed with Guanashi that Xisen was the man who kidnapped him by showing him Xisen’s ID.

Following the interview’s conclusion, Guanashi was released.

His story was, at least in part, corroborated by Xujun, who claimed to be Guo’s nephew, and who had been to his uncle’s place in Maine multiple times over the past year to help him renovate his house.

Xujun did not know Guanashi, but was able to confirm that he had been picked up from a park in New York.

“My uncle picked up the other guy from a park in New York and I don’t know who he is,” said Xujun, according to the police report.

Xujun also claimed that there were no marijuana plants when he was there “this time,” and that he had only been there for a week.

When police confronted him with video evidence showing him and two other men burying something outside the house, Xujun confessed to being in the video, but claimed that they were burying dirt from the garage.

He was also ultimately released.

Guo was the only one of the men charged with any crime, and faces drug trafficking charges, but faces no charges for kidnapping Guanashi.

Guanashi’s claims directly contradict assertions made earlier this week by U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee.

[RELATED: Biden-Appointed U.S. Attorney for Maine Finally Addresses Illegal Chinese Marijuana Grows…]

McElwee, who was appointed to serve in Maine by President Joe Biden, claimed that there was no evidence of any human trafficking going on in the illegal Chinese grow sites, despite the police report recording Guanashi’s claims that he had been kidnapped.