ChicagoVideo

Suburban Chicago Pot Bust: Feds Recover 600 Pounds Worth Nearly $2.6 Million

Feds Make 600 Pound Pot Bust In The Suburbs
|
Open Image Modal
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 7: Marijuana plants grow at Perennial Holistic Wellness Center, a not-for-profit medical marijuana dispensary in operation since 2006, on September 7, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. A group of activists have submitted about 50,000 signatures in an effort to force a referendum on a marijuana dispensary ban in Los Angeles to take effect next week. A minimum of 27,425 valid signatures from registered voters is needed to let voters decide on the issue in March, and until the number can be verified, the ban will not be enforced. . The ban would not prevent patients or cooperatives of two or three people to grow their own in small amounts. Californians voted to legalize medical cannabis use in 1996, clashing with federal drug laws. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

After three months of investigation, five west suburban residents have been arrested in a pot trafficking operation in which authorities seized roughly 600 pounds of marijuana, local and federal officials confirmed Thursday.

According to police and court records, the five suspects had been running pot to the Chicago area from the Southwest United States, said the Daily Herald. The operation included couples from suburban Batavia and Elburn, Ill.

The operation was busted Tuesday night after the North Central Narcotics Task Force agents caught wind of a pot shipment coming to the area, reports the Sun-Times.

Police at the state and local level coordinated traffic stops, pinching a vehicle in far west suburban Sugar Grove and three others in Aurora. Police dogs sniffed out drugs in two of the cars, according to the Tribune.

Authorities estimated the street value of the bust to be around $2.7 million.

The five suspects face varying charges among them, ranging from felony marijuana trafficking to possession of more than 5,000 grams of marijuana with intent to deliver, reports the Daily Herald.

If any of the suspects post bond, set at $2.7 million or $3.5 million depending on individual charges, they will have to prove the money did not stem from drug dealing activities.

Support HuffPost

At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.

Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.

Would you join us to help keep our stories free for all? Your will go a long way.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go

Pot In Chicago: A Timeline
Cook County Board President: Reagan Deserves 'A Special Place In Hell'(01 of12)
Open Image Modal
AUGUST 2012 -- A mere passing mention of the "war on drugs" has the tendency to send Chicago-area media into a firestorm. After Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle stated, during an event led by former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar, that former President Reagan deserved "a special place in hell" for his administration's drug policy, she almost immediately backtracked on the comment. Preckwinkle later emphasized that, although she could have used more careful wording, she remained critical of how the United States has approached substance abuse as a criminal problem rather than a health crisis, the Chicago Tribune reports, though Reagan is not the only president whose administration has held such a position."Drug policy in this country has been in the wrong direction for 30 years," she noted. (credit:AP)
City Council Votes To Ticket Small Quantity Possession(02 of12)
Open Image Modal
JUNE 2012 -- Chicago's City Council passed an ordinance that allows police to ticket people found with small amounts of marijuana instead of arresting them, saying aldermen had to do something to keep officers on the street where they can combat the surging homicide rate and not be tied up for hours doing paperwork.The 43-3 vote in favor of the ordinance, which allows officers to write a ticket for $250 to $500 for possessing as much as 15 grams of marijuana or about 15 marijuana cigarettes, was expected after a council committee voted 13-1 previously to approve the measure.But aldermen still debated about two hours before passing the ordinance, with many saying they were not comfortable with a measure that could be seen as sending a message that they are condoning drug use. Others said they needed to act to protect an increasingly nervous city where homicides are up 38 percent this year compared to the same period last year.One day after the council approved the ordinance, police announce their seizure of 16,000 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $40 million -- one of the city's biggest pot busts ever. (credit:AP)
Emanuel Pushes For Ticketing Small Possession Offenses(03 of12)
Open Image Modal
JUNE 2012 -- Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced a proposal that would allow police officers to issue tickets to individuals caught with small amounts of marijuana.Under current law, those arrested for pot possession can face a punishment of up to six months in jail, plus a $1,500 fine, but the mayor's proposal essentially decriminalized the possession of small amounts of weed. Police would newly be able to ticket low-level offenders -- those possessing less than 15 grams of the drug -- and fine them up to $500.Emanuel initially stayed quiet on the ordinance but said that after researching the issue, he realized that such a change would allow the city to "observe the law, while reducing the processing time for minor possession of marijuana - ultimately freeing up police officers for the street." (credit:AP)
That's Not A Skunk You're Smelling(04 of12)
Open Image Modal
APRIL 2012 -- It's likely not the skunks contributing to the whiffs Chicago Tribune columnist Barbara Brotman has been catching around Chicago."The smell [of marijuana] has changed," Ryan Vandrey, a behavioral pharmacologist and assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine who has studied marijuana for 12 years told Brotman. Another expert explained that the skunk-like smell is an increasingly popular variety associated with a powerful high.With the warmer weather and the onslaught of outdoor concert and festivals headed Chicago's way, this "infestation" is likely to grow just as rapidly as the skunk population this season. (credit:Getty)
Illinois Police Drug Dog Reliability Questioned(05 of12)
Open Image Modal
MARCH 2012 -- In the course of reporting on the traffic stop of Terrance Huff, HuffPost was able to obtain the reports of an Illinois State Police K-9 unit over an 11-month period in 2007 and 2008. An analysis of those reports shows that only 25.7 percent of the drug dog "alerts" resulted in police finding a measurable quantity of illicit drugs. Just 13 percent resulted in the recovery of more than 10 grams of marijuana, generally considered an amount for personal use, and 10.4 percent turned up enough drugs to charge the motorists or their passengers with at least one felony. (credit:Getty)
Police Confiscate More Than One Ton Of Pot(06 of12)
Open Image Modal
FEBRUARY 2012 -- Police confiscated more than a ton--2,100 pounds total--of marijuana on the South Side of Chicago. Combined with 64 grams of cocaine also found at the scene, the estimated value of the drugs is more than $6 million.Four people were charged in the bust -- Atef Dissi, 27; Nika Hines, 27; Keith Mackmore, 39 and Gregory Wright, 28. Dissi, of the 4500 block of West 77th Place, faces the most serious charges, including one felony count of manufacture and delivery of cannabis and one misdemeanor count of criminal trespass to vehicles.That same week, officers on the West Side responding to a domestic battery call stumbled upon an "elaborate" marijuana-growing operation, confiscating about 70 pounds of bagged marijuana and live plants and charging Darick Bryant, 39, with felony manufacture and delivery of cannabis and other misdemeanor infractions. (credit:Getty)
Study Finds Marijuana Smoke Less Damaging Than Tobacco(07 of12)
Open Image Modal
JANUARY 2012 -- A 20-year study of marijuana users in four U.S. cities, including Chicago, found that marijuana smoke is less damaging to the lungs and body than tobacco smoke.Unlike cigarette smokers, marijuana users tend to breathe in deeply when they inhale a joint, which some researchers think might strengthen lung tissue. But the common lung function tests used in the study require the same kind of deep breathing that marijuana smokers are used to, so their good test results might partly reflect lots of practice, said Kertesz, a drug abuse researcher and preventive medicine specialist at the Alabama university. (credit:Getty)
Evanston Decriminalizes Marijuana(08 of12)
Open Image Modal
NOVEMBER 2011 -- The Evanston City Council voted 6-3 on a $250 million budget that included decriminalizing marijuana possession of 10 grams or less, penalizing offenders with a fine rather than the jail time they could face elsewhere.Aldermen justified the more lenient marijuana ordinance as a protection against young people's futures (infractions under the new ordinance will not appear on criminal records), and as part of an effort to free up police they say are overextended in the town, which has about 75,000 residents and contains Northwestern University.The similar Chicago proposal, meanwhile, has failed to pick up much steam. (credit:Getty)
Alderman Supports Decriminalization(09 of12)
Open Image Modal
NOVEMBER 2011 -- Ald. Danny Solis (25th) introduced an ordinance to the City Council that would make possession of small amounts of marijuana a ticketable offense -- leaving offenders to pay a $200 fine versus a misdemeanor charge."In these trying times of the economy, we could really use the revenue generated by fines versus arrests," Solis told the AP. "And each (arrest) means police officers are spending an inordinate amount of time outside the neighborhoods, inside the district offices doing paperwork."Solis estimates that the change would bring the city $7 million per year and also save police and court workers "money and thousands of hours of time." (credit:Getty)
Illinois Marijuana Could Be Among Priciest In The Country(10 of12)
Open Image Modal
AUGUST 2011 -- Though reliable statistics on the subject are difficult to track for obvious reasons, analysis last summer estimated that the average selling price of marijuana in Illinois, particularly in the Chicagoland area, is among the highest in the nation.The blogger behind FloatingSheep.org created a map of average marijuana prices across the country based on data from Price of Weed, a website that crowdsources information regarding how much people are paying to light up. The blogger's analysis indicates that Illinois, particularly in its northeastern corner, is home to some of the highest prices for green found in the nation.According to Price of Weed, the average price of a high-quality ounce of marijuana in Illinois is $430.80, while a medium-quality ounce can be purchased for roughly $303.13. The data is based on just under 1,000 submissions. In Chicago, based on recent data, the average price of a high-quality eighth of marijuana appears to hover just under $60. (credit:Getty)
Biggest Pot Bust In Chicago History(11 of12)
Open Image Modal
AUGUST 2011 -- Chicago police arrested seven men and found an estimated $33 million in cannabis, weighing more than 12,000 pounds, from a West Side warehouse, the biggest bust in the city's history.According to a news release, narcotics unit officers were led to the warehouse, located on the 1000 block of South Kolmar Avenue, after they received a tip about a drug trafficking organization that was linked to multiple street gangs, in addition to storing and distributing massive amounts of narcotics. Monday, police observed a cargo van leaving the grounds which, upon further investigation, contained nearly 2,500 pounds of marijuana.The warehouse contained 9,800 more pounds of cannabis, as well as seven vehicles, a rifle and a handgun that were "connected with the illicit activity," according to police. (credit:Getty)
Cook County Board President, Police Chief Support Decriminalization(12 of12)
Open Image Modal
JULY 2011 -- Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, an outspoken opponent of arrests for low-level drug possession offenses, reportedly discussed the idea of decriminalization with Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy."It's pretty well known within the criminal justice system that the judges will dismiss those charges [involving] very modest amounts of illicit drugs," Preckwinkle said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "I suggested to [McCarthy] that although the law is pretty clear that such possession is a violation of the law, that since the judges routinely and almost universally dismiss such low-level drug charges that the police might stop arresting people for this since it clogs up our jail and these people their cases will be dismissed out anyway."The suggestion ccame about a month after Preckwinkle called the "war on drugs" a failure."The cost is too great to continue fighting this war on drugs with so little success," she said.McCarthy has publicly made similar comments about drug enforcement previously. In an interview with WBBM-AM 780, he said "narcotics use is a criminalized social issue" which causes crime. (credit:AP)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip