8 tons of cartel marijuana seized from tractor-trailer in Chicago
A Chicago police and DEA Strike Force seized about eight tons of Mexican marijuana from a cartel staging warehouse on 26 June 2012, the city's largest seizure in at least 20 years. Officers showed off the $40 million haul two days later as evidence that gangs were fighting over the trade.
Officers from a joint Chicago police and Drug Enforcement Administration Strike Force seized approximately eight tons (16,000 pounds) of marijuana from a Mexican cartel staging warehouse on Tuesday 26 June 2012, after receiving information about the shipment.[1]The bust was the largest cannabis seizure in Chicago in at least 20 years.[1]Authorities showed off the marijuana, found in a tractor-trailer, at a press conference that Thursday, saying the seizure would help efforts against gang violence.[2]
The DEA’s Chicago office said the marijuana was grown in Mexico and shipped to Chicago for street gangs to sell, with an estimated street value of $40 million.[2]Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy called the drugs the driver of violent crime rather than the crime itself, saying seizures of this size affect street-level sales and the city.[2]Alderman Roderick Sawyer said gangs were fighting over the money and power the trade brought.[2]
The display came a day after the City Council voted to let police ticket possession of 15 grams or less instead of arresting, a measure McCarthy supported as freeing officers for serious crime.[2]Officers joked that eight tons equalled more than 7.2 million grams, or a great many tickets.[2]
Case data
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