"The vision for the operation’s sustainable practices comes from Good Steward CEO Tri Trong Nguyen, a 50-year-old Rochester native who spent years growing cannabis in Colorado.
"Nguyen made headlines in 2015 when he was indicted as the ringleader of a 32-person smuggling operation that used vehicles and sky-diving planes to ship up to 400 pounds of marijuana per month from Colorado to Minnesota.
"Nguyen was initially sentenced in 2017 to 11 years for trafficking and money laundering. However, when his sentence was revised by the courts four months later, he was released and placed on probation, according to court documents. He declined to be interviewed for this article.
"His story highlights a reality for Minnesota’s nascent legal cannabis industry: Many of the most experienced and sought-after cultivators gained their experience in the black market and may have complicated legal histories."
Take a look inside one of Minnesota’s largest legal marijuana harvests to date
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