Illinois troopers seize 5,858 lb of cannabis on I-80 near LaSalle
On 4 September 2026 a commercial vehicle enforcement stop on eastbound Interstate 80 outside LaSalle found about 5,858 pounds of cannabis and cannabis products in a semi-trailer; driver Mahmoud B. Bazrouk and co-driver Haed O. Samham were jailed on Class X trafficking charges.
🇺🇸 Interstate 80 eastbound, LaSalle County, Illinois · Illinois, United States
·
Arrested
2
Cannabis
2.6573 t
Just after 11:30 on Thursday 4 September 2026, a trooper with the Illinois State Police
Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Bureau stopped a truck tractor semi-trailer on eastbound
Interstate 80 just outside LaSalle.[1][2]A search found multiple pallets of suspected cannabis
and cannabis products weighing about 5,858.4 pounds (roughly 2.66 tonnes).[1][2]
The driver, 41-year-old Mahmoud B. Bazrouk of Norridge, and co-driver Haed O. Samham, 45, of
Harwood Heights, were taken into custody without incident.[1][2]The LaSalle County State’s
Attorney charged both with cannabis trafficking, a Class X felony, and they were held at the
LaSalle County Jail.[1][2][3]
At detention hearings on 9 September, Circuit Judge Michelle A. Vescogni ordered both men held
without pretrial release, finding the quantity too large for supervised release to prevent further
trafficking.[3]The state police release gave no further case detail.[1]
Shaw Local reported prosecutors later described the load as about 2.6 tons rather than the nearly three tons first cited, while the state police release kept 5,858.4 pounds.
Local reporting said the men claimed to be hauling an Amazon shipment; the state police release did not describe their explanation.
No street value was published in the state police release, and no court outcome was reported by the sources opened.
Waynesville police seized more than $56,000 worth of THC products said to have been sold or given to middle and high school children, arresting one person. Police said many items contained marijuana or THC extracts in youth-friendly packaging and warned parents about their appearance.
Police in Calhoun County said a multi-agency operation in Anniston seized suspected marijuana, suspected oxycodone and three pistols. The Anniston Police Department said the case remains an active investigation.
Mississippi officers stopped an 18-wheeler on Interstate 20 in Rankin County on 29 October 2026 and seized about 1,959 pounds of marijuana alongside cocaine. Driver Yohannes Haile and co-driver Befikadu Belayneh were arrested and charged with trafficking and taken to the Rankin County Detention Center.
Three people were detained after a go-fast boat was intercepted in the Eastern Pacific with 2,504 pounds of marijuana. A US task force said it supported an unnamed partner nation; a separate cocaine seizure the day before is not counted here.
