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

Feds Make 600 Pound Pot Bust In The Suburbs
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)
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.

Before You Go

Cook County Board President: Reagan Deserves 'A Special Place In Hell'

Pot In Chicago: A Timeline

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot