Traffic Stop Nets $4 Million Pot Bust

A traffic investigation of a man driving 35 mph on Interstate 90 Saturday morning resulted in two arrests and the seizure of $4 million in “high quality” cannabis, Kane County Sheriff’s deputies said.

A sheriff’s deputy traveling westbound on I-90 near Route 47 saw a Ford Econoline van with Arizona registration traveling west at about 35 mph and observed the male driver leaning back in his seat trying to hide his face, deputies said.

The deputy stopped the van on I-90 near the exit ramp at Route 20 in Hampshire Township and discovered the driver had switched places with a female passenger, according to reports.

Authorities learned the driver, identified as Xaiana Thammavong, 44, of 247 S. Liberty St., Elgin, was wanted on an Elgin warrant for failure to register as a child sex offender.  His Illinois driver’s license was also revoked. 

Thammavong was arrested and a sheriff’s deputies uncovered 230 pounds of cannabis, a high quality that could be sold for as much as $40 per gram, deputies said.

The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office authorized the following felony charges against both Thammavong and his female passenger, Xom M. Vongsaly, 57, of California:

    * One count each of cannabis trafficking

    * Once count each of delivery of more than 5,000 grams of cannabis

    * One count each of possession of more than 5,000 grams of cannabis

    * The driver was also charged with driving on a revoked license

Thammavong’s bail was set at $10.1 million and Vongsaly’s bail was set at $10 million.

“It was definitely a good traffic stop,” Kane County Sheriff’s Lt. Pat Gengler said.

The amount, 230 pounds, doesn’t seem like a lot, but the high quality means dealers can sell it at a higher price, Gengler said.

There’s a lot of cannabis now coming out of the West Coast, Washington, Oregon and California, made using new technology that allows growers to increase the THC levels, which increases the potency, he said.

Technology also helps the plants grow more buds, he said. A majority of the cannabis sold in the U.S. is now grown domestically, he said.

Anyone who smokes cannabis regularly would be in for a “big shock to their system” if they smoke the type seized during the weekend, he said. Although studies vary on whether cannabis is addictive, the high quality cannabis can be as addictive as cocaine or heroin based on the potency, he said.