Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced charges against six individuals in connection with "Operation Sugar Diamond," a multi-agency investigation targeting an illegal cannabis extraction business linked to two deadly explosions. The charges stem from a 2023 warehouse blast in Irwindale that killed four people and a 2024 incident at a South El Monte facility where another person died. The investigation, involving over 150 law enforcement agents, led to the seizure of approximately 27 tons of illegal cannabis products valued at more than $100 million.
The 2023 explosion on October 9 at a warehouse in Irwindale claimed the lives of Yi Luo, 47, Xin Chen, 59, Guangqi Fu, 35, and Quizhuo Liang, 35, all identified as workers at the alleged honey oil extraction site. Despite these fatalities, the primary defendants, Ted Chien, 53, of Temple City, and Han Quan Jiao, 55, of Rosemead, are accused of continuing their illicit operation. A subsequent fire on November 18, 2024, at a South El Monte lab resulted in the death of Bordin Sikarin, 57.
District Attorney Hochman stated in a press conference that this case "shows the deadly and disastrous results when illegal cannabis operations recklessly put greed over the safety of their employees and neighbors." Chien faces five counts of murder, with a special circumstance allegation for multiple murders, along with felony arson and drug manufacturing charges. Jiao is charged with one count of murder, arson causing great bodily injury, and multiple counts related to maintaining a controlled substance location and manufacturing.
The multi-agency probe served search warrants at nine locations across Los Angeles County, including a large-scale lab in La Verne. Four other individuals—Xiaolong Deng, Chengyan Xu, Christopher Reyes, and Frank Herrera—were also charged with drug-related counts for their alleged roles in producing and transporting concentrated cannabis. All six defendants are scheduled for arraignment on September 11 in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.