Forty pounds of pot found in Willowbrook, 4 charged

A judge set bond Tuesday at $250,000 for each of four California men charged with possessing nearly 40 pounds of marijuana at a Willowbrook motel.

Prosecutors said the men were arrested as police investigated a tip about heavy foot traffic in and out of a room at the Super 8 on the 800 block of West 79th Street.

Authorities arrived to find three large boxes containing 18,000 grams of marijuana packaged in 46 bags, prosecutors said. Assistant DuPage County State's Attorney Debora Brewer said in court that the drugs had an estimated street value of $925,000.

Charged with felony cannabis possession were Thong Huynh, 32; Nhan Ngo, 41; Phap Pham, 46; and Tien Tran, 40.

Willowbrook Police Chief Mark Shelton said authorities believe the men were on their way to Chicago when they stopped in Willowbrook and checked into multiple rooms.

“Why they stopped here, Lord only knows,” he said. “It's a convenient stopover because of the location of the hotels at Route 83 and I-55.”

At a bond hearing, DuPage Judge Liam Brennan told the defendants through a Vietnamese interpreter they would be required to show that any money they might put up as bond came from legitimate sources, and not drug-dealing, in order to secure their releases. Each of the men would have to post $25,000.

Brewer said the suspects were considered a “severe flight risk” because of the seriousness of the charges, and the fact that they live out-of-state. The men remained in the county jail as of late Tuesday afternoon.