DEA says street value of high-grade marijuana is $500,000

A Cary man was charged after police recovered 100 pounds of high-grade marijuana from his vehicle and home worth $500,000, authorities said Wednesday.

Vincent C. O'Brien, 62, of the 800 block of Harper Court, was charged March 19 with possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver and possession of cannabis, police said. His bail was set at $100,000 and he paid $10,000 and was released from custody March 21.

Members of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the McHenry County Sheriff's Police Narcotics Task Force observed a 2008 Dodge pickup truck arrive then leave O'Brien's house March 18. A sheriff's K-9 officer conducted a traffic stop and subsequently recovered $170,740 in cash hidden inside the cab of the vehicle.

The following day, investigators stopped a vehicle leaving the same residence and the K-9 unit indicated the presence of narcotics inside the trunk.

A search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of 50 pounds of high-grade marijuana and $1,044 in cash, investigators said.

A later search of the residence resulted in the seizure of an additional 50 pounds of high-grade marijuana, $8,000 in cash, scales, and packaging materials, police said.

O'Brien's next court date is April 14.