2 suburban men convicted after being caught with 128 lbs. of weed

LINCOLN, Neb. — Two suburban Chicago men have been convicted in Nebraska of possessing 128 pounds of marijuana for sale.

Ali Khalil, 31, of Oak Lawn, and 30-year-old Issa Abu-Serieh of Burbank were found guilty after a nonjury trial and are to be sentenced Jan. 23.

Lancaster County, Nebraska, sheriff’s deputies say they stopped cars being driven too closely by the two on Jan. 25, 2015, on Interstate 80 near Lincoln. The sheriff’s office says the two seemed to be traveling together. A police dog taken to the scene alerted officers to the odor of drugs.

Attorneys for the two later argued the evidence should be suppressed because the traffic stop was a pretext to search the vehicles.