A four-month-long investigation into an alleged drug ring has led to several arrests, according to local police sources. Seven people have been arrested and charged with drug crime-related charges by Illinois police during this crackdown operation in a Naperville apartment complex. All seven individuals were arrested on July 17 and appeared in bond court the following day.
All seven face similar charges for the alleged sale and possession of crack cocaine, marijuana and heroin. Several of the group also face conspiracy charges related to the alleged trafficking racket, as well as possession with intent to deliver. Bond has been set at between $50,000 and $1 million for each individual, and six of the seven were set to appear in court next on July 29.
Very few details were released as to the nature of the investigation or subsequent bust. It is known that the investigation was conducted as a joint effort between various local police forces, the DEA and the FBI. However, the nature of the investigation, how police collected evidence of the alleged wrongdoing and how the arrests were carried out have not been widely reported as of this writing.
Considering the lack of information about the process through which Illinois authorities fingered these individuals for drug crime accusations, it may benefit the defense of each individual to carefully review the record of this investigation. Special attention paid to due process and the types of evidence collected may yield pertinent questions to raise prior to the beginning of criminal court proceedings. A failure to recognize due process on the part of arresting officers, or a mishandling of critical evidence, could weigh heavily in the court’s decision-making process.
Source: dailyherald.com, “Seven charged in Naperville drug bust“, Justin Kmitch, July 18, 2014