By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Stillwater man and his nephew, who remain free on $500,000 total bail, have been ordered to appear in court in January on multiple drug charges including illegally trafficking large quantities of marijuana.
ZiQian Zhang, 53, who owns a licensed marijuana grow facility at 10415 E. 6th Avenue, and his nephew, Danny Zhang, 30, who reportedly lives at the facility, were told by a Payne County judge on Nov. 7 that they must have their cases set for a preliminary hearing or waive their rights to it when they return to court on Jan. 9, 2023.
If convicted of marijuana trafficking, illegally cultivating marijuana, possessing marijuana without a tax stamp and using a cell phone for drug trafficking, the pair could each be given a 40-year prison term and $165,000 in fines. If convicted of an additional count of maintaining a house where drugs are kept and sold, ZiQian Zhang could be given a 10-year prison term and a $50,000 fine.
The pair were arrested following an investigation by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, according to an affidavit by an agent who speaks fluent Mandarin, court records show.
Two OBN agents were on Interstate 35 just north of the Oklahoma-Texas border at 6:05 pm on March 7 when they noticed an odor of raw marijuana coming out of an SUV during a traffic stop, the affidavit alleged.
The driver said he was…
