Three men who were arrested in Carol Stream homes that police said contained large quantities of marijuana were each sentenced to 7 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty in DuPage County Circuit Court to possession of the illegal drug.
Javier Curiel, 27, Pablo Acevedo, 24, and Amador Garcia, 48, were arrested on Aug. 6, 1998, in the wake of an investigation by a Chicago police narcotics unit.
Assistant DuPage County State’s Atty. Steve Knight told Judge Robert Anderson on Wednesday that the Chicago police unit placed a Cicero business under surveillance. As police followed suspects who were leaving the business, they stopped Acevedo, who they said agreed to a search of the Carol Stream home where he told authorities he lived.
Police then went to homes on the 800 block of Pembrook Court and the 100 block of Horizon Circle. In those houses, police said they found Garcia, Curiel and nearly 400 pounds of marijuana.
Knight said the homes also were equipped with packaging materials and scales. Investigators believed the marijuana was being prepared for Chicago-area street dealers.
Anderson also fined the three men $200,000 as part of the plea deal, but authorities said they don’t expect to see the cash.
Although the men gave the Carol Stream addresses as their own, authorities believe they were laborers who had lived in several places around the country. Knight said officials think the three were paid about $250 a week for their help in packaging the drugs.
No further arrests were made in the case.