COPS FIND $20 MILLION OF COCAINE IN GARAGE

Bust Bolsters Worries That SW Side A Major Drug Hub

Two men from Mexico will appear in court next month on drug charges after
Chicago police raided a garage on the city's Southwest Side and found 360
pounds of cocaine - valued at $20 million - hidden in the rafters.

Chicago police said Samuel Zedillo, 37, and Jose Valencia, 22, both of the
3100 block of West 59th Street, were each charged with possession of a
controlled substance and delivery of a controlled substance after their
arrest Thursday.

The men are from Jalisco, Mexico, police said.

In announcing the arrests Monday, Chicago Police Cmdr. Wayne Wiberg called
Zedillo and Valencia "middle management" in the drug distribution system.

"They'd be in sales and marketing positions," Wiberg said.

He said the cocaine, found in a rented garage in the 5700 block of South
Talman Avenue in the city's Gage Park community, was intended for
distribution throughout the Chicago area.

Wiberg said the drugs were likely transported from Mexico across the U.S.
border in vehicles with hidden compartments. The drugs likely originated in
Colombia, he said.

In addition to the drugs seized from the garage, police also seized a 1995
Chevy Astro van with a secret compartment in the roof for hiding drugs,
Wiberg said.

Police believe that Zedillo and Valencia originally received 440 pounds of
cocaine but had already distributed about 80 pounds of it.

"This is another example of how Chicago is becoming a major distribution
point," Wiberg said.

Wiberg estimated that Chicago police have seized more than a ton of cocaine
since the beginning of the year.

Many of the drug busts -including the one announced Monday - have
connections to the Southwest Side, Wiberg said.

"We are aware it's all occurring on the Southwest Side, and we're looking
at it very seriously," Wiberg said.

Police placed Zedillo and Valencia under surveillance after receiving a tip
from residents at a monthly community policing meeting, Wiberg said.

The two men rented the garage, and neighbors had grown suspicious of their
activities, Wiberg said.

During surveillance on Wednesday, police followed the men as they took the
van to 16th Street near the Dan Ryan Expressway and sold 11 pounds of
cocaine to a third man, police said.

Detectives arrested the buyer after Zedillo and Valencia left the scene.

Police declined to identify the buyer Monday but said he was also charged
with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver.

On Thursday, police again followed Zedillo and Valencia.

After the two men drove away from the garage, other officers contacted the
garage's owner, who allowed police to search the garage.

Police found the cocaine hidden in the rafters, Wiberg said.

At that point, officers who had been following Zedillo and Valencia
arrested the men as they were walking away from the van in Westchester,
police said.

Both men are scheduled to appear in court next on April 16, said Marcy
O'Boyle, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.