patching...
Welcome back, Patch Blogger!

Joliet, Feds Bust Drug Dealers, Seize Coke, Heroin, Cash

"Operation Red Baron" centered on drugs allegedly being sold out of a store called Supermercado Joliet at Cass and Collins streets, reports say.

 

Joliet police, working with the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office, took down 10 drug dealers and confiscated more than 16 pounds of heroin, nearly 7 pounds of cocaine and $232,000, Joliet Police Chief Michael Trafton said Monday.

The investigation, dubbed "Operation Red Baron," resulted in the arrest of two Joliet men and the indictment of five others. The remaining three defendants hail from Ohio, Trafton said in a news release.

The arrests were made by FBI special agents and members of Joliet's narcotics unit, and face federal drug charges filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, the release said.

"These arrests should considerably reduce the illegal narcotics distribution in the city of Joliet as well as surrounding communities," Trafton said in the release.

The ring was reportedly being run out of the Supermercado Joliet, a small market located at 379 Cass St. and owned by Ramiro Sanchez, 54, according to a story published by the Chicago Tribune, which reviewed recently unsealed federal documents filed in Chicago.

The Joliet Metropolitan Narcotics Squad is credited with the arrest of Sanchez and Mario Magana, 33, both of Joliet.

The investigation began in September 2011, when an informant started assisting Joliet police, the Trib story. The department, working with the FBI, orchestrated several drug buys through the informant, the story said.

Sanchez was identified as one of the area's top drug dealers, and that the heroin and cocaine seized has a street value in the millions, the Tribune said.

The first two busts led to the eventual indictments of Victor Lemus, 37, Jesus Gonzalez Zambrano, 42, Ismael Garibay, 39, Miguel Lopez, 47, and Jerry Hervey, 34, all of Joliet.

Also charged were Antione Matthews, 36, Lamar Egler, 33, and Lewis Hall, 38, all from the Cleveland area.

DON'T MISS THE LATEST JOLIET NEWS. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER

FOR A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TAKE, FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

Related Topics: Arrests, Cocaine and Heroin, Fbi, Joliet Police Department, U.S. Attorney's Office, drug dealers, and indictments

Dawn

7:26 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Great job...Thank you for your hard work.

Reply

John Roberts

9:46 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Lmao...and didn't even make a dent into the drug business in Joliet....people of Joliet would be surprised with how many businesses in Joliet were started with drug money....and now will probably see some stores shut down around here...and the people who did the drugs will just find another person to get them from...

Reply
Comment_arrow

Infamous Steve

10:34 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Could not agree with you more. OK so...they got "some" drugs out of Joliet. Doesn't mean that the users will suffer. They will just move on to the next guy. But we must continue the $40 trillion "war on drugs" that has been nothing but a epic fail since it started.

Rene Reyna

10:55 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013

You people make me laugh John R you are very well informed and I respect that . But really 3 keys and 7.5 of heroin that's a big bust LMMFAO I LOVE THE WAY THE MEDIA MAKES THINGS MUCH BIGGER THEN THEY ARE . If you people only new the truth little MEXICO WILL CONTINUE TO THRIVE cold hard truth !

Reply
Comment_arrow

John Roberts

11:07 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Not really...to some of us it is..because not many of us know too many people able to afford that much..but 7.5 compared to the size of Joliet and surrounding areas and how many people use heroin on a daily basis..7.5 does not last long...my aspect was more to say..in order for people that use heroin on a daily basis there has to be way way more than 7.5 out there...the users probably will not even be effected by the bust..the point is all the over time,police work,housing inmates...just does not add up to continue to the "war on drugs"...most people do not know all the money spent on the war on drugs is taken from the same account as public aid,housing,healthcare and other "public"programs...Mexico just accepted 450 Million from us says they wil continue the war on drugs but believes a conference needs to be held to discuss regulation,all the countries below Mexico have legalized drugs,not trafficketing but posession...they have shut down prisons,more money goes to the cities,but still some have laws you still can not do it near schools,parks,businesses or you go to jail...violence has calmed down,most of the violence was drug violence....this bust to some was big but to our area it wasn't anything

anthony

2:56 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013

That was the best place in town to buy flautas ,tamalesand salsa ,that sucks !

Reply

Sassyone2

4:46 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013

I love those tacos! But I am glad they have busted the evil men who are selling herion. How would they like it if we gave thier children drugs to ruined thier lives. Assholes.

Reply

Reality Bytes!

10:46 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013

I'm pretty sure the taco truck will endure, maybe in a different parking lot...

Reply

Robert Hernandez

11:30 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Congratulations to the FBI and our JPD for this successful narcotics operation investigation continue your good work we need to rid our streets of these drug dealers!

Reply

forget me

1:33 am on Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Damned if they do and dammed if they don't. More busts need to happen more frequently. Why does it take a year?

Reply

w.d.m.

7:12 am on Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Ramiro Sanchez is a great person! To say there should be more drug busts is like saying we should raid all fast food chains.
@Charlies angel : No they don't or point blank period
@Robert hernandez : Damn the JDP and FBI they should be taking care of other major priorities! Rather than target small business like Ramiro's
@sassyone2: they are not evil. And drugs dont ruin people - people do that to themselves. Its like saying Mcdonals ruin my child now hes 300 pounds with health problems - FUCK THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHATS RIGHT AND WROING! KNOW HOW TO READ THE WARNING LABELS - IGNORANT PEOPLE.

eVERYONE - DRUG MONEY PUTS FOOD ON THE TABLE AND MANY BUSINESS ARE BUILD WITH DRUG MONEY MANY OF US HAVE FAMILY MEMBER WHO USE, ABUSE, AND OR SELL ON THE SIDE. SHUT THE FUCK UP! LOL

NEWAYS RAMIRO SANCHEZ IS KIND, GENEROUS, LOVES TO HELP OTHERS, AND ALWAYS GREETED YOU WITH A SMILE! HE'S NO DIFFERENT THAN THE POLICE ONLY HE'S WAS MORE HONEST AND NICER.

JDP IS CORRUPT LIKE ANY OTHER.

Reply
Comment_arrow

Reality Bytes!

12:02 am on Thursday, January 10, 2013

Why don't you tell that to the parent's of the kids in the surrounding areas that have died from the shit these guys were selling??? Because you are an idiot! You are complaining that these scumbags are off the streets because their families are going to be hurting when you don't even stop to think of the numerous families that are being ruined every day by this garbage. You need to crawl back under whatever rock you slithered out from and choke on that for a while!!!

Comment_arrow

GlockG22Shoots40s

8:21 am on Sunday, January 13, 2013

Are you a flippin idiot.. allow me to answer - YES... nice guy feeding drugs to the children... he's nice to kids alright, future buyers no doubt.. you are a dumba**... Deport this friggin trash and all his illegal employees.

Comment_arrow

John Roberts

12:17 pm on Monday, January 21, 2013

And what do the kids,people do when they can not get heroin?..they go to the hospital and get Suboxin and methadone and become Methadonians....and shoot up Suboxin,vicodin,OxyCodone,OxyContin....then there is always the bath salts,my cousin told me $10 worth of bath salt is like having $1000 in crack...all of this promotes and makes pharma companies and makers of products rich and your kids and family using more chemicals...heroin has been around and will always be no matter the busts..the more the busts the more the product goes up and the more it causes people to do drastic things to get it..not to mention when a bag of heroin becomes worth a million then it become more worth it to people to smuggle the drug..one time shot and walk out with a mill...how many people you think are going to be smuggling..I always said when coke is worth a mill you have to watch the pope..and low and behold were getting close..there were just some preachers caught in a drug ring.lmao...but we can ignore reality and cause some more chaos which intern allows the government to attack our 2 Ammendment rights because some drug addict shot some one trying to get even more money for the drug he is going to get even if he has to shot someone.and what's he going to do when sent to prison?.more heroin.users and dealers locked up in max sec prisons and still can not keep drugs out of them or away from people at that..but we can waste all of our money on it and have more restrictions passed against us.

james johnson

4:37 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013

What crazy is these are the best stories we can hear horray what about these unsloved murders no that would make me happy with joliet

Reply

james johnson

4:40 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Wmd im with you on that one just imagine the families that going to hurt behind this alot of somebody got to pay

Reply

Margaret Ward

8:55 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013

ya era tiempo de aplacar a estas cucarachas, Ramiro y el Habram son malos para pagar los trabajos que honestamente se les hasia a sus fincas y como para envenenar a la gente no se tentaban el corazon. Ojala se queden buen tiempo en la carcel y que no los manden a Mexico ya ahy muchas cucarachas destruyendo el mundo.

Reply

james johnson

7:57 am on Thursday, January 10, 2013

Margaret you say you glad the cockroaches are gone but them same cockroaches are the same ones help build up the hispanic community

Reply

mike jones

12:22 am on Friday, January 11, 2013

Mr johnson dnt make this abt race because there is a cockroch in every one dnt get me started

Reply

MarRos.

3:08 am on Friday, January 11, 2013

Its funny how people like to blame others for their own mistakes or their loved ones mistakes but in reality no ond forced them to take these drugs, no one put a gun to their head Im sure. First step is taking responsibility for their own actions. Every choice has consequences. Yes what Ramiro was doing is illegal but he has put in so much into this failing community & Im speaking about the Eastside. I dont see the city trying to improve neighborhoods except more police harassment! Ive lived in Joliet all my life & Ive seen so much in these streets its sad. One mans fall will be anothers rise... That is for sure! The game wont stop someone else will just takeover. I say it starts at home & if you raise your kids right then you have nothing to worry about.

Reply

Reality Bytes!

11:23 am on Friday, January 11, 2013

Well, when that area was all white, it was alright! I started life in that area just a couple of blocks from Collins St prison. I won't even drive down there now unless its daytime. The scumbags moved in, and all the decent people moved out. That was a great place to live in the 60's, now its a great place to die... Why are we advocating the community of illegal aliens and drug dealers? Why aren't people asking to have that area exterminated? There are people on here defending drug dealers... Really? Am I that far out of it that I didn't realise that drug dealers are the good guys? I think I need to move as far from Joliet as I can..

Reply

MarRos.

4:36 pm on Friday, January 11, 2013

Im not condoning the route most dealera take but if you are not in their shoes we can not judge. We cant judge anyone based on what we read. He has done alot for this community and that will be demonstrated during court. We are responsible for our actions & cant push the blame on others. Same goes for murderers rapists molesters. Tell me why these people get less time and fewer consequences than drug dealers. How is that right?

Reply

Mario

10:22 pm on Friday, January 11, 2013

@pro streeter, are u mad, because a mexicano take ur wife, maybe she was the scumbag stop be a hater!! U white bag

Reply
Comment_arrow

Reality Bytes!

2:12 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013

My wife is Mexican you Bunghole!!! She is here legally!!! You on the other hand I suspect are a hell of a swimmer!!! If you had been a resident of Joliet (or America) back in the 60's you would know how RIGHT I am!! Joliet has turned into a craphole thanks to your drug friends and freeloaders!

forget me

12:54 am on Saturday, January 12, 2013

Margaret could you translate? sorry i took french not spanish in school. I'm not being funny really i did for 6 yrs.

Reply

Mario

4:22 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013

That's explained why u think every Mexican is a scumbag, she's one of them, well not everyone r like u and u wife dude, on the way and i don't have a drugdealers friends, u white back

Reply

Mario

4:34 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013

Anyways not here to fight with no one even with retarded plp like u, freaking HILL BILLY, and u know what u have a dumb scumbag wife cuz she's married whit a scumbilly Ay,ay,,

Reply
Comment_arrow

Reality Bytes!

1:30 am on Sunday, January 13, 2013

Go back to Puerto Rica Julio, you aren't welcome here in the US... U scumbags move in, and everyone moves out because you drive property values into the dirt. But I'm sure they love you at whatever restaurant you wash dishes at... Calling me white REALLY hurts my feelings, WETBACK! You don't even know what a hillbilly is. If you condone what all these guys were selling to kids, you belong in jail right next to them. So why don't you scurry back over the border, and pick up the rest of your family and take them to Tijuana for a ciesta!!!

GlockG22Shoots40s

8:26 am on Sunday, January 13, 2013

Look at all the illegals defending the drug dealer... ha ha that's friggin funny...

Reply

John Roberts

9:18 am on Sunday, January 13, 2013

One dealer down 5 more come in,turf war...while tons and tons of heroin,coke,marijuana,meth all have been shipped into the U.S. just during the operation "Fast and furious" by cartels who give up information on other cartels...what happened in Mexico?..they went from 5 main cartels to roughly 80 and now have one of the biggest turf wars there ever was in Mexico...yep caut most of the leaders of the cartels and they got new leaders,they broke up into different fractions making it harder for police ,military to catch they..and the harder it is to get the more the price goes up..soon 1 package of cocaine will be worth a cool 1 Million then you will be seeing people you never thought you would smuggling because to some 1 million for a one time shot just might be worth it....it is all about education and self responsibility..all the parents that lost their kiss...you could not have done nothing about it,have them arrested,sent to rehab,prison..and what did they do when they got out?..went back to using..and what happens as we remove heroin,coke,marijuana,? People start to use stuff that makes people want to eat each others faces..I would rather let some junky die from drug use than to have someone killed by an idiot wanting to bite someone's face off....why the violence? Because drugs are expensive and money becomes an issue..the more we fight it the higher the price the more the violence..get it?

Reply
Comment_arrow

John Roberts

9:27 am on Sunday, January 13, 2013

I watched a documentary a guy lived in Finland and robbed,stole,home invaded people just to get Subutex..he finally knocked off a grocery store for 5000euro and went to France where they gave out Subutex and needles free..while in France,paris for about a month...he did not steal,rob,hold up,nor home invaded anyone..when the money ran out for rent to stay in France he went back to Finland where he had to start stealing,robbing and home invading people just to get Subutex...Finland has a war on drugs right now too and Subutex is top of the list...the government says more violence comes from people doing things trying to get money to get Subutex than anything else..it is the human minds way..you are told you can not have something.first thing you ask is Why?..and it makes the human investigate even more...you can control your human mind by controlling your actions but you can never remove the wants,curiosity of the human mind...and these wants,curiosity to some include drugs..and they will do what ever they have to to get them..even degrade them selves..

Mario30

3:32 pm on Sunday, January 13, 2013

Omg! Pro grandpa, u need go back to the school and learning where puerto rico and tijuana are situated, just for record i belong to local 150 heavy equipment operator, i made more money in 8 hrs than u make in a week washing floors in silver cross, the scumbags are everywhere, is not about the race, what u can say about white guys killing guys this weekend, is not the color of plp is the choices plp make, by the way i known what a HIll Billy is, a hill billy is fighting with me, stop fighting before u have a heart attack! U r too old for this matters ; )

Reply
Comment_arrow

just so u know

10:58 am on Monday, January 14, 2013

u dumb ass saying go back to puerto rico the U.S. doesnt welcome u.... puerto rico is U.S. territory. she most likely married u for her papers. i hope u guys dont have children cuz u have no repect for ur wife talking shit about mexicans. What have u done for ur community? and i bet u send her to bring u tacos n carnitas.

Reality Bytes!

10:42 pm on Sunday, January 13, 2013

It just so happens that I am a union worker myself, and I doubt you made that much more than me, and you are making me out to be a lot older than I am. I'm no grandpa, and as I said before, I lived in Joliet on the ast side before it was taken over by scum. It was a good place to grow up. I also grew up around Ridgewood, which has also been infested with scum now. Hillbilly, I'd rather be one than an illegal alien.. I am also very aware of where Puerto Rico and Tijuana is. I think maybe you should head back there yourself!!! Later Julio!!!

Reply

Mario30

12:29 am on Monday, January 14, 2013

@pro grandpa, I doubt that u made more money than me,we all know that no other union trade mades more money than stationed crain operator that's what i do i build lots of buildings in Chicago and i know how much the others trades make on hr and we can apostar on that u old hill billy, by the way i have the biggest spanish house in all Ridgewood and plainfield about that! U old bag of bones hahaha ok make sure take ur teeths out & clean thembefore u go to sleep good night grandpa

Reply

liz

10:46 am on Monday, January 21, 2013

Omg !! Ppl I hope they were not selling tacos out out ppl

Reply

liz

10:48 am on Monday, January 21, 2013

Tacos de perro... ohh taquitos de humano :)

Reply

John Roberts

12:29 pm on Monday, January 21, 2013

Here is the reality of this "drug war" ..Last night at 7/11 on Briggs street and cass..about 7:30 pm.there were 5 cops in the store..cars parked outside..now there all standing in a group.as I stand there the 2 guys in front of me ask for "strawberry blunts"lmao.and even said it loud as hell lol.now by the time I got out to the car the guys were already dumping out the tobacco in the blunt.ummm,..lmao.parked one car from the cop car and in reality about 15 feet from the officers.and you can guess why they tobacco is being dumped out.and what it got filled with..Reality is there is no end to drugs usage no matter if you made a life sentence for it.Words of our founding father George Washington."The best way to repeal a law is to strictly enforce it".Time has come Countries around the globe have sat down and realized that through regulation heroine,cocaine,meth,is all cleaner than street made back room hurry hurry set up.that hurry hurry is what makes bad heroine..just like the cocaine the CDC put a report on saying the cocaine was eating parts of the body and turning it black..making it rot.this happens according to the CDC. When the Lidocaine is not mixed right.in regulated facilities where regulated everything is made in a cleaner form,less home invasions almost all for profit and not drugs,drug deaths have decreased,heroin is considered a low level drug and hardly ever used as much as before when illegal,.Time to rethink things 40 years of a violent drug war is not working

Reply
Comment_arrow

John Roberts

12:47 pm on Monday, January 21, 2013

Decriminilzation of drugs is this...The state and cities realized that through a municipal fine the money goes to the county city from which it was issued,in turn keeping the money local..when a person is taken to jail and charged for breaking a federal drug crime all the money goes to the federal government..so the state,city,county loses money for the prosecution,housing,and keeping track of the individual when released on parole...all money we now see is wasted,..What did MSNBC,CNN show people? 3 million a day to look for marijuana and coming up with mostly 4 to 5 plants only a couple hundred worth of pot.lolwasted money..drug deaths have decreased in countries that have regulated drugs,..Just because you regulate drugs does not mean people will just go out and do drugs...you have to ask yourself the real question.would you go do drugs just because they were legal?..generations of people still do drugs..not just one generation and as we can see the reality of it is causing more drugs to be invented,all while the pharma companies recreate the effects of the natural drugs to sell to people to help with their pain and in turn what happens? They go to heroine,meth when the prescriptions run out but not to worry after your heroin binge you can go get some methadone,Suboxin to be hooked on..lol...stop selling K2 in stores and marijuana use jumps up,..and around and round we go..all profit for justice system and thoes who work for it.lol

Sryan

4:40 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Its disgusting to see all the racism this simple topic have provoked. It seems the only person who has any understanding of economical drug regulation and prohibition is John R. Every comment that has been posted here seems to refer only to hatred of our brothers and sisters simply reasoning to skin color, living situation, or location of birth. When the topic is changed in a way not relating to the subject. It shows not only a lack of confidence in ones self but an narrow-minded view on an important political topic. Although the choice of the supposed "drug dealer" was wrong, so is the decision to judge your neighbor and even more the recipient of the "narcotic". When we pin point drug users we must also take a gander at our own habits. How many of you commenting smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol? Your putting your health in danger by consuming harmful carcinogens and by product toxins. You honestly think your a better person because it legal? It's your choice to danger yourself by consuming these toxins legally, the ideals should resemble the same to the drug user. So don't judge those because your misinformed, but except that our Controlled Substance Acts should be reconsidered because alcohol and tobacco are just the same if not worse. Don't try to justify what you are aware, is wrong...

Reply

xochitl citlalli

1:42 pm on Monday, February 18, 2013

hola don ramiro como a estado soy xochitl hija de su compadre alberto le mando un saludo y espero se encuetre bien le manda saludos su haijado karol y todos por aca del rancho cuidese

Reply

Leave a comment