Heroin Trafficking Ring Busted on West Side of Chicago
CHICAGO, IL – In a major crackdown on heroin trafficking, 12 defendants have been charged in a federal investigation dubbed ‘Operation Dirty Ice.’
According to the charges, Diamond Lake operated a drug trafficking organization that distributed nearly 500 grams of heroin in the Chicago area on a weekly basis. The organization used Lake’s residence in Bellwood to store bulk quantities of heroin and to prepare the drug for street-level distribution.
The investigation, led by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, also seized one and a half kilograms of heroin, a half kilogram of crack cocaine, more than $892,000 in illicit cash proceeds, and a stolen handgun.
The charges were announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and other law enforcement officials.
The defendants, who include Diamond Lake, 42, of Bellwood, Darnell Hudson, 42, of Chicago, Antwion Williams, 43, of Berwyn, and 8 others, are facing federal charges including conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, and possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute.
Many of the defendants have made initial appearances in federal court in Chicago, and the charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.
The investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, whose principal mission is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations.
The charge against Tyjuan Yates, 36, of Chicago, stems from a June 2018 seizure of heroin in the Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago. Law enforcement discovered approximately 109 grams of packaged heroin in Yates’s vehicle in the 4400 block of West Fulton Street, according to the complaint.
The conspiracy charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison, while the possession charge against Yates is punishable by up to 20 years.
According to the charges, Lake operated a drug trafficking organization that distributed nearly 500 grams of heroin in the Chicago area on a weekly basis. The organization used Lake’s residence in Bellwood to store bulk quantities of heroin and to prepare the drug for street-level distribution.
The charges were filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago and are punishable by up to 40 years in prison for the conspiracy charge and up to 20 years for the possession charge.
The investigation was conducted under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, whose principal mission is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations.
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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