December 16, 2010 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Six railroad cars that traveled from Mexico to Chicago Heights were packed with 11 tons of marijuana in the ''largest seizure ever of marijuana'' in the area, according to the feds.
It looked like any other freight train rolling north along rural railroad tracks. But this one was the Weed Express.
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Feds bust 'Weed Express'
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When the six train cars from Mexico pulled into a south suburban Chicago Heights warehouse, federal authorities say they were packed with 11 tons of marijuana in so-called "super sacks." Seven people are being held on federal charges after being arrested on Wednesday in connection with the shipment, now being billed as "the largest seizure ever of marijuana in the Chicago area."
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More: Download the criminal complaint (pdf)
At a news conference Thursday afternoon in Chicago, federal drug agents said that they calculated the 22,000 pounds of marijuana had a street-sale value of at least $22 million. "This is a great day for the good guys. Having served time on the border, this is the way it's supposed to work," Jack Riley, Drug Enforcement Administration, said.
In this case, customs and border patrol agents found six cars of a Union Pacific train loaded with the "super sacks" at Eagle Pass, Texas, in mid-November. Their shipping documents said they contained titanium pigments from Jalisco, Mexico, and were being imported by a company called Earth Minerals outside Joliet. With the help of a drug sniffing dog, the agents found that the rust colored dust was meant to camouflage the real contents -- 11-tons of marijuana.
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