CAMBRIDGE, Ill. — Two California residents appeared in Henry County Circuit Court on Class X felony cannabis trafficking charges after state police found 124 pounds of black-market marijuana in their RV on Nov. 17 on Interstate 80.
In a joint preliminary hearing, Judge James Cosby found probable cause to believe Wei Fu Li, 63, of Rowland Heights, Calif., and Chunmei Xiao, 40, of Rosemead, Calif., committed felonies.
Illinois State Police Sgt. Sean Veryzer testified he pulled the RV over for improper lane usage — crossing the right shoulder line — and lack of headlights in the rain at 11:59 a.m. just east of Geneseo. Veryzer's K-9 alerted on the vehicle and the drugs were found in three false compartments, one in the RV's closet, the second under the bed and the third in the rear floor.
Doug Wade of the Black Hawk Area Task Force interviewed the three occupants, and Xiao admitted to packaging the marijuana and giving it to the other two. Li said he was going on vacation in Chicago, coming from Los Angeles and San Francisco, but he did not answer questions about the marijuana. The driver, Wei King He, said he was driving at the time of the stop but that the other two had also driven the RV and they were paying for the fuel.
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Troopers also found a white powdery substance in a bag on the passenger side midway back on the kitchen table area. Because of the current policy of the state police, field tests on controlled substances are typically not conducted by patrol units because of the dangers of fentanyl exposure, but it was sent to the lab for further analysis, according to Veryzer.
Pre-trial hearings on March 24 were set for the two. Both entered pleas of not guilty and are seeking jury trials.
