More than a ton of pot seized in Wood Dale

Cook County sheriff's officers discovered $8.5 million worth of marijuana in a Wood Dale townhouse Wednesday night.

The street value is nearly as much as the 30,000 marijuana plants found in Barrington's Crabtree Nature Center last month.

The townhouse along Bristol Lane in Wood Dale was mostly barren of furniture and signs of habitation except for the large drug cache, authorities announced Thursday.

Sheriff's officers found 15-pound bricks of marijuana in the living room, bathroom, family room, refrigerator and clothes dryer.

Police seized more than 2,300 pounds of marijuana, roughly the weight of a fully-loaded Cessna 172 airplane.

Rubber gloves, bags and scales also were recovered, leading authorities to arrest Gilberto Diaz Moreno, 32, of 200 S. LaVergne in Northlake.

Moreno was charged with one count of unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver after police observed him entering and leaving the Wood Dale townhouse.

The charge is a Class X felony punishable by six to 30 years in prison if Moreno is convicted.

Bond for Moreno has been set at $100,000. He was being held late Thursday afternoon at DuPage County jail.

Police also took two unidentified men into custody the time of townhouse search. Both were released without being charged with a crime, authorities said.