CHINA SYNDROME: How Chinese crime networks are poisoning America’s heartland

Chinese criminal syndicates are turning parts of rural America into enormous illegal marijuana operations. And one California congressman has had enough.

On October 19, California Republican Rep. James Gallagher called on FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate the criminal networks operating in Siskiyou and Shasta counties. His concerns extend well beyond marijuana. Foreign financing, organized crime, illegal pesticides, and overwhelmed local law enforcement are all part of the problem.

American suburban real estate had become the foundation of an international drug operation.

In 2025 alone, Siskiyou County authorities reported eradicating 332,871 marijuana plants, seizing more than 54,000 pounds of processed cannabis, and making 118 arrests.

And those are just the operations authorities managed to uncover.

Water torture

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment, Chinese transnational criminal