CRESTWOOD DRUG SEIZURE CALLED `BUST OF A LIFETIME'

The Chicago police narcotics unit broke its one-day record for drug
seizure Tuesday night when they confiscated 1,145 kilograms of
cocaine, about 2,500 pounds, which were being stored in an auto
detailing shop in southwest suburban Crestwood.

"We were shocked. This is the bust of a lifetime," said Cmdr. Philip
Cline of the narcotics unit. "We never used to see this type of
quantity in the Chicago area."

Cline made his comments Wednesday following a news conference at the
auto shop, where he stood behind a 4-foot-high wall of the seized cocaine.

Police said they believe about half the cocaine was to be sold in
Chicago. The rest was destined for other Midwest cities, including
Detroit and Minneapolis, they said.

Before Tuesday's bust, the largest cocaine seizure by Chicago police
was in 1995 when 734 kilograms of the drug was found.

Police say the cocaine was in a pure, uncut state and has a street
value of $143 million. Cline said the shipment was to have been
divided into 50-kilogram quantities and sold to wholesalers, who would
sell to distributors before it landed in the hands of street gangs in
1-kilogram amounts.

Each kilogram of cocaine can produce 4,000 bags of crack, Cline
said.

"If you can get 4,000 bags of crack from each one, well, you can add
it up," he said. "It's definitely going to have an impact on the
availability of cocaine in Chicago. But how long that impact is going
to last, we don't know."

Two Chicago men, an uncle and his nephew, and two men described by
police as Mexican nationals and heavy players in a Mexican drug cartel
were arrested. Each was charged with felony possession of a controlled
substance with intent to deliver, Cline said.

The bust was a result of a two-month investigation. Police said they
believe the shipment seized Tuesday had arrived in the Chicago area a
few weeks ago.

Acting on a tip that a large shipment of cocaine was being temporarily
stored at A&S Auto Detailing, 4727 W. 137th St., in Crestwood, police
set up a surveillance team.

Police say they watched Ruben Contreras, 23, of El Paso, Texas; and
Ira McDaniel, 22, of Albuquerque; load a cardboard box into a red
Plymouth Voyager. The two left the shop in the Voyager and another
vehicle, authorities said, trailed by police.

Meanwhile, officers entered the shop and allegedly found 1,095
kilograms of cocaine inside a 1987 black GMC truck with a Texas
vehicle registration sticker and Illinois plates, which police say
Contreras and McDaniel drove to Chicago from Texas.

Chicago men Arthur Bell, 43, of the 4500 block of South Calumet
Avenue, the owner of the detailing shop, and his nephew Wautese Bell,
24, of the 900 block of West 111th Street were arrested at the scene.

Police say they did not know whether the shop had been used to store
drugs in the past.

Contreras and McDaniel were arrested in North Riverside. Another 50
kilograms of cocaine were recovered from the Voyager, police said.

The cocaine was packaged in two bricks and stored in cardboard boxes.
To keep the drug dry, it was wrapped in plastic and covered by blue or
yellow rubber followed by another layer of plastic.

Also seized was 170 pounds of marijuana and $15,100
cash.

All four men were being held in Cook County Jail late Wednesday. Bond

for McDaniel and Contreras was set at $6.25 million each. A bond
hearing for the Bells was set for late Wednesday. If convicted, each
man faces 15 to 60 years in prison, according to a spokesman from the
state's attorney's office.