RAIDERS NET MILLIONS, TON OF COCAINE

Authorities said Wednesday they have seized more than 1 1/2 tons of cocaine
and several million dollars in cash by cracking a drug ring that shipped
narcotics to Chicago in 18-wheelers and used a West Side produce company as
a drop-off point.

One suspect was caught red-handed carrying a large duffel bag filled with
cash outside his Southwest Side home, officials said. Inside the residence,
Drug Enforcement Administration agents said they discovered some $5 million
in mostly small bills.

Officials said the agents also found almost 2,800 pounds of cocaine packaged
in fruit and vegetable crates at Ortiz Produce Co., 2021 W. 18th St.,
another 462 pounds of cocaine in a Chicago storage facility and about 200
pounds of the drug in a Cicero garage.

Authorities displayed the cache of drugs at a news conference where they
announced the arrests of five men in the yearlong investigation. The
cocaine, wrapped in 5-kilogram packages, was piled 6 feet high in a corner
while the cash filled a long table and tub.

U.S. Atty. Scott Lassar and Joseph A. Vanacora, special agent in charge of
the DEA in Chicago, put the wholesale value of the seized cocaine at $31
million.

"It's a significant seizure," Vanacora said. "The seizure of money hurts
them more than the seizure of cocaine."

The investigation was led by the DEA and included investigators from the
Internal Revenue Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Chicago
Police Department and several suburban police departments.

According to a criminal complaint, three of the defendants--Desi Cano, 46,
of Wood Dale; Jorge O'Conner, 31, of Chicago; and Juan Manuel Perez, 39, of
Cicero--were arrested Tuesday at the Cicero garage.

About 1 1/2 hours later, authorities pulled over a car that had been under
surveillance. Authorities said its occupant, defendant Steven Webber, 29,
admitted to them that his cousin ran a drug organization and kept large
amounts of cash at their Southwest Side home.

DEA agents later arrested the cousin, Jesse Quintanilla, 29, as he left his
home at 6142 S. Kilpatrick Ave. with a duffel bag of cash, according to the
complaint.

The agents also found about $5 million in cash inside the house and a drug
ledger in Quintanilla's car indicating he had received almost a ton of
cocaine during a five-day period earlier this month, according to the complaint.

Wednesday morning, authorities recovered about 1,265 kilograms of cocaine at
Ortiz Produce amid a shipment of carrots, authorities said. The business
appears to be "a dropoff point for large shipments of cocaine coming up from
Mexico," Vanacora said

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett