ILLINOIS STATE POLICE Seizes over 5,800 Pounds of Cannabis During I-80 Traffic Stop
September 5, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 5, 2026
LaSalle – The Illinois State Police (ISP) arrested 41-year-old Mahmoud B. Bazrouk of Norridge, Illinois and 45-year-old Haed O. Samham of Harwood Heights, Illinois for Cannabis Trafficking (Class X Felony) after a traffic stop in LaSalle County.
On September 4, 2026, just after 11:30 a.m., a Trooper with ISP’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Bureau conducted a traffic stop on a truck tractor semi-trail (TTST) on eastbound I-80, just outside of LaSalle, IL. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed multiple pallets of suspected cannabis and cannabis products, weighing approximately 5,858.4 pounds. The driver and codriver of the TTST , Bazrouk and Samham, were taken into custody without incident.
ISP presented the case to the LaSalle County State’s Attorney’s Office, who charged Bazrouk and Samham with Cannabis Trafficking. Bazrouk and Samham are being held at the LaSalle County Jail pending their first court appearance. There is no further information.
ISP Cannabis seizure on 09/04/2026
The charges are not evidence against the defendants, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.