Two Chicago residents have been charged with growing more than $5 million in pot at a pair of elaborate grow houses in Joliet.
Sinh Tran Dinh, 50, of the 6000 block of N. Winchester, and Ha Tran Pham, 43, of the 5300 block of W. Winona, have been charged with the manufacture and sale of over 5,000 grams of cannabis, as well as the possession of over 200 marijuana plants, authorities said.
Cook County sheriff’s police investigators learned of the grow houses from a previous bust by the sheriff’s police South Narcotics Unit.
The two houses — in the 3500 block of Indian Head Lane and the 4700 block of W. Mallard Lane — were put under surveillance and then raided on May 16 and 17.
Dinh and Pahm were both arrested May 16.
“It was a sophisticated operation, and we’re currently investigating how extensive it is,” said Liane Jackson, a sheriff’s spokeswoman. “These individuals are people that we targeted as large-scale operators in the drug trade.”
In the home on Indian Head Lane, police found some 540 plants with a street value estimated at $3.7 million. At the Mallard Lane home, police found about 200 cannabis plants with the street value estimated at $1.4.
Both homes had hydroponic growing equipment and complex ventilation systems in their basements. Vents ran through the floor boards and to the chimneys.
Both suspects also have charges pending for allegedly stealing electricity, officials said.