Crime & Safety

7 Indicted, 30 Kilos of Drugs Seized in Multi-County Bust

The accused drug dealers used DuPage County as their hub of operations, officials said. The drugs have an estimated street value in the millions of dollars.

Written by Charles Menchaca 

Seven people were indicted for their roles in dealing millions of dollars of drugs throughout the Chicago area, the DuPage County State's Attorney announced Tuesday.

Police seized about 30 kilos of cocaine and heroin with an estimated street value in the millions of dollars. The seven men and women are accused of using various locations in DuPage County as the hub of their operations in dealing drugs throughout DuPage, McHenry and Cook Counties, DuPage State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a news release.

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The following men and women on June 6 were charged with criminal drug conspiracy, a Class X super felony, and possession with intent to deliver, a Class X felony:
  • Javier Garcia Gomez
  • Domingo Guillen
  • Juan Espera Pegraza
  • Rene Rojo
  • David Salgado
  • Erika Salgado-Pineda
  • Leslie Salgado-Pineda

The DuPage County State's Attorney's Office on Tuesday refused to release further information about the people indicted and the locations used in DuPage, citing an ongoing investigation. Some of the men are already in custody as of Tuesday, according to the Attorney's Office.

Officials from DuPage, McHenry and Cook counties began the narcotics investigation in June 2010, focusing on several members of a Guerrero-based heroin trafficking organization operating in the three counties and the surrounding area.

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A class Super X Felony is punishable by up to 60 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and a Class X Felony is punishable by up to thirty years in an Illinois prison.

"As I have said many times before, drug dealers know no boundaries and if we are to be successful in our fight against drugs we must all work together," Berlin said in a prepared statement. "Through our collective efforts, we were able to confiscate millions of dollars of dangerous narcotics, thus keeping them out of the hands of our children. This was truly a cooperative effort and I would like to thank the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, the office of Homeland Security Investigations, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and the Chicago Police Department for their outstanding work in getting these drug dealers and the drugs they peddle off our streets."

Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the defendant’s guilt.  A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.


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