COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Authorities found $3 million worth of opium and heroin inside tea bags at O'Hare International Airport this week, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Three women traveling from Laos by way of Japan were detained Tuesday after U.S. customs agents found numerous suspicious baggies in their luggage, authorities said.
In all, the women were carrying 31.6 kilograms, or roughly 71 pounds, of drugs, prosecutors said during a bond hearing Wednesday. The estimated street value is $3.1 million.
Now, the women — Pa Yang, 57, Mai Vue Vang, 58, and True Thao, 52 — face charges of manufacturing and delivering a controlled substance.
Customs agents said they found 470 packets of brown powder hidden inside tea bags. Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. on Wednesday ordered each woman held in lieu of $50,000 cash. That means, in order to post bond, each women will have to pay the full $50,000 amount; there's no 10-percent deposit option.
Additionally, Yang, Vang and Thao will need to prove during a hearing that they obtained their bond legally, the judge ordered.
Panarese made his decision after prosecutors noted that Yang, Vang and Thao have no local ties. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the women are U.S. citizens from Minnesota.
They do not speak English, a public defender said, and no translator was available in court Wednesday. As such, the women's public defender could not speak with his clients; nothing was said on behalf of Yang, Vang and Thao in court.
Customs agents said they found 470 packets of brown powder hidden inside tea bags. Prosecutors noted that some of the packets were also hidden among wood chips.
“Today is a great example of how the officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection work daily to stop the illegal drug flow into the United States,” said Matthew Davies, Chicago Area Port Director. “Even though these would-be smugglers are trying new concealment methods each and every day, I just want to remind them that if they try to get through Chicago, we will catch them!”
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