7,592 pot plants seized in Naperville, Bolingbrook

Police say a Chicago man is behind a major marijuana operation after they discovered 7,592 plants worth $10 million in three rented homes in Bolingbrook and Naperville.

On Tuesday, Chang Chen was ordered held on $1 million bail. The 40-year-old citizen of China is charged with unlawful production of cannabis plants, a felony punishable by four to 15 years in prison. He also is eligible for probation.

Prosecutor Ken Tatarelis said Chen cultivated the plants out of the three homes, with the one on the 2500 block of Whitehall Lane in Naperville serving as the main location.

Chen was arrested Monday in Bolingbrook.

"Naperville police received a tip from a neighbor who saw U-Hauls going in and out of the garage, and they thought the place was being robbed," said Tatarelis, the office's narcotics chief.

Chen also is accused of illegally using electrical grids to power the operation. He had rented the Naperville home for about two years, but Tatarelis said the defendant lived in an apartment on the 2200 block of South Wentworth Avenue in Chicago. He has a New York driver's license.

Chen is on probation for soliciting a prostitute. DuPage Associate Judge Liam Brennan told Chen he must relinquish his passport and prove a legal source of bail money before he is released. He remains held in the DuPage County jail.