COOK COUNTY, Ill. – Two Chicago-area men are facing felony drug charges after authorities seized more than 339 pounds of cocaine and about $700,000 in cash from a west suburban home earlier this week.
River Grove cocaine bust
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said agents executed search warrants at a River Grove residence and other locations as part of an ongoing drug trafficking investigation.
Authorities seized 339½ pounds of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $15.2 million, along with roughly $700,000 in cash, according to a DEA spokesperson.
Burhan C. Ozerdinc, 33, of Oak Lawn, and Ahmad S. Sanducka, 33, of Mount Prospect, were arrested during the raid.
The men were charged Thursday with possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute more than 900 grams, according to the DEA.
Burhan Ozerdinc and Ahmad Sanducka | DEA
What investigators found
According to Cook County court documents, DEA agents tracked the men for several days as they moved between a Franklin Park warehouse and the River Grove home on Cottonwood Lane, which investigators referred to as a “stash house.”
Agents began conducting mobile surveillance of a semi-truck equipped with a tracking device on Aug. 29.
The truck traveled to the warehouse, where Ozerdinc was seen loading a large cardboard box into his Subaru, according to court documents. Ozerdinc then drove to the stash house and was later observed making suspected narcotics transactions at a Mariano’s parking garage and in Mount Prospect involving an Acura.
On Sept. 8, investigators saw Ozerdinc at Sanducka’s home in Mount Prospect before the two men traveled to the stash house after switching vehicles, the documents state.
On Sept. 14, Sanducka was seen unloading 11 boxes with white handles at the Franklin Park warehouse, according to court documents.
The next day, the semi-truck was stopped in Indiana. Investigators recovered 11 boxes containing 198 bricks of cocaine, the documents state.
River Grove search
Also on Sept. 15, Ozerdinc was seen entering the stash house with a backpack, according to the documents.
A Mercedes van driven by Sanducka later pulled into the garage. Investigators said Sanducka placed a white U.S. Postal Service box in the van.
The van was pulled over after it left the garage. A K9 alerted to the presence of narcotics in the van, court documents state. Investigators said they found a box containing cash, a heat-sealing machine and plastic used for heat-sealing.
Inside Ozerdinc’s Subaru, which was also in the garage, authorities found another box containing cash, according to the documents.
A search of the stash house turned up about 154 bricks of cocaine, a money counter, bags of rubber bands, boxes of nitrile gloves, multiple vacuum sealers, cellphones, labels and garage-door openers, investigators said.
A backpack in the kitchen contained a prescription bottle bearing Sanducka’s name, according to court documents.
Authorities also searched Sanducka’s home and recovered a money counter, a heat sealer and several thousand dollars, the documents state.
Coordinated investigation
The raid involved about 10 law enforcement agencies, including K9 teams.
The DEA Chicago Field Division led the investigation with support from Customs and Border Protection, the Chicago Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Group.
The Buffalo Grove, Elmhurst, Elgin, Woodridge and Justice police departments, along with the Will County Sheriff’s Office, also assisted.
What’s next:
Both men are due in court Friday for a preliminary hearing.
A judge has already granted prosecutors’ requests for pretrial detention and ordered both men to remain in custody while their cases continue.
The Source: The information in this story came from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Chicago Field Division, and Cook County court documents.