[420 Girl]

CHICAGO - Seven people have been arrested after nearly 11 tons of marijuana was found packed into six railroad cars from Mexico in what could be the largest pot seizure in the Chicago area.

The marijuana was found at a south suburban warehouse this month, according to the U.S. attorney's office, which valued the pot at $22 million.

The arrests were announced Thursday, the same day that members of a south suburban family, in a separate case, were charged with running a large pot growing operation out of their home.

The warehouse raid came after Customs agents in Eagle Pass, Texas, came across a Union Pacific train bound for the Chicago area carrying about 21,800 pounds of suspected marijuana, the office said.

The agents "observed a number of large bundled packages, referred to as 'super sacks,' in six cars on the train, the office said.

The agents opened one of the sacks and saw "13 cubic bundles, which were encrusted in a thick layer of fine red masonry pigment dust." Tests showed the packages all contained marijuana, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Shipping documents claimed the sacks contained titanium ore sent by Comercializadora De Minerale, a company in Jalisco, Mexico, and were bound for Earth Minerals Corp. in Rockdale, Ill.

The packages were resealed and the railroad delivered them to a warehouse in Chicago Heights, according to the office.

One of the suspects, Carlos Osvaldo Quintero, spoke to a Union Pacific employee several times about the delivery, the office said. From Dec. 6 through Dec. 10, the rail cars were unloaded by forklifts to a storage facility next to the warehouse, the office said.

Agents said they did not observe any marijuana being removed from the storage facility before the arrests.

Charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute marijuana were: Quintero, also known as "Carlos Gomez" and "Miguel Dominguez," 31; his father, Martin Quintero, 63; Felipe de Jesus Magana-Campos, also known as "Padrino," 47; Eduardo Angel Zalayaran-Ruiz, also known as "Other Inge," 54; Javier Vera, also known as "Ducky," 24; Christian Gonzalez, 24; and Miguel Cordova, 20.

The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment and a $4 million fine.


NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: miamiherald.com
Author: Chicago Tribune
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Copyright: 2010 Miami Herald Media Co.
Website:7 arrested after authorities find 11 tons of pot in railroad cars - Travel AP - MiamiHerald.com


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