FBI officials announced last week that seven Chinese nationals smuggled into the United States have been charged with cultivating and distributing marijuana to repay their smuggling debts.

For the past five years, the defendants allegedly operated and owned several grow houses in New England through which they sold marijuana in bulk. One of the Chinese nationals, known as Jianxiong Chen, allegedly used a home in Massachusetts as a base of operations for the network.

Authorities searched the home in October and recovered over $270,000 in cash from the property, as well as in a Porsche in the driveway, plus several Chinese passports in a safe.