Weed Express BUSTED! 6 Railroad Cars of Marijuana!

History was made today with the largest drug bust (via 6 railroad cars) of marijuana in this country. It all started when border agents and customs found six railroad cars filled with marijuana at Eagle Pass, Texas. That was in mid-November.

Drug sniffing dogs alerted agents that so-called "super sacks", said to contain titanium pigments bound for Earth Minerals near Joliet, Ill., actually were full of marijuana. ELEVEN TONS of marijuana were found!

The federal agents reloaded the cars and sent them on to their destination at a warehouse in Chicago Heights. The agents then set up monitoring of the warehouse premises. Using listening devices and aerial observation techniques they recorded several men. The men discussed things like the need for fork lifts to unload the upcoming shipment and the need for a "sifting machine" to sort the marijuana from the titanium pigments. To read the details of this tremendous "Weed Express" bust, go here!

Seven people were arrested and charged. The charges so far are conspiracy to possess and distribute marijuana. All seven men remain in federal custody at this time. Their names are as follows:

Carlos Osvaldo Quintero aka Carlos Gomez aka Miguel Dominguez-31
his father, Martin Quintero - 63
Felipe de Jesus Magna-Campos aka Padrino-47
Edwardo Angel Zalayaran-Ruiz aka Other Ingle-34
Javier Vera aka Ducky 24
Christian Gonzalez aka Chris-24
Miguel Cordova aka Mike- 20

Special Agent-in-Charge of ICE, Gary J. Hartwig, said "ICE will continue identifying and dismantling criminal organizations that smuggle drugs across our borders and into our communities."

Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the DEA, Jack Riley, said "The estimated $22 million dollars worth of marijuana seized in this joint investigation translates to a significant blow to the availability of marijuana in the region, as well as a denial of illicit proceeds back to those responsible for this shipment."

The investigation of this crime is ongoing. This may just be the tip of the iceberg. This crime had a lot of organization behind it and the sheer size of the bust is monumental. It is estimated that the Weed Express was worth at least $20 plus MILLION dollars. Someone out there has to be very upset at losing that kind of money. The bust was big enough to substantially curb the flow of marijuana on the streets of Chicago.

The Weed Express has been busted for now. Congratulations to the hard work of so many!

source:
ABC7NEWS