Dog's Discovery Of 5 Pounds Of Meth Leads Deputies To Drug House

WAUKEGAN, IL — Three men each face at least a half-dozen felony drug charges stemming from an investigation that started with a traffic stop Tuesday in Beach Park, the sheriff's office announced.

Around 2 p.m., a Lake County Sheriff's Office deputy pulled over a car around Wadsworth and Green Bay roads for failure to use a turn signal, according to a spokesperson for the office. During the traffic stop, the deputy's partner, K9 Duke, was employed to sniff the air around the car.

"K9 Duke indicated there was contraband in the trunk of the vehicle," according to the sheriff's office.

Based on the dog's signal, deputies searched the trunk of the car and found five pounds of methamphetamine, more than 700 grams of cocaine, more than 20 grams of heroin, a stolen firearm and a machine used to count stacks of cash, according to the sheriff's office.

The three men inside the car were taken into custody, and the sheriff's office began investigating. Members of the office's special investigation group somehow collected enough information to believe additional drugs were being kept in an apartment in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood, according to a sheriff's office statement.

A judge later authorized a search warrant for the unit the 1900 block of South Drake Avenue, and Chicago police helped conduct the search at an unspecified time. No information was yet available from the sheriff's office regarding the probable cause that led authorities to obtain the warrant.

Inside the apartment, investigators found nearly two more pounds of meth, over 250 grams of heroin, 40 grams of cocaine, pills containing oxycodone and morphine, another gun and a device used by drug dealers to dilute narcotics and repackage them into one-kilogram "bricks," according to the sheriff's office.

Brandon Hidalgo-Flores, 23, of the 5000 block of South California Avenue, Chicago, was the driver of the car during the Beach Park traffic stop. He was charged with manufacture or delivery of more than 900 grams of methamphetamine, 400 grams of cocaine and more than 15 grams of heroin and one additional count of possessing each drug.

Jose Lopez-Arellanes, 52, with no permanent address, was one of the passengers. He was also charged with six felony counts of manufacturing, delivery and possession of meth, cocaine and heroin and an additional misdemeanor count of obstructing justice.

The other passenger, 38-year-old Efren Valadez, also lives in the 5000 block of South California Avenue in Chicago. In addition to the six narcotics charges, the sheriff's office announced prosecutors also approved charges of felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm for him. A sheriff's office spokesperson said he is a documented gang member.

All three men were ordered held at Lake County Jail in lieu of the $50,000 cash portion of their bail, according to the sheriff's office. Hidalgo-Flores is due to appear in court on Monday, Lopez-Arellanes on Tuesday and Valadez on Wednesday.

All the Lake County charges relate to narcotics found during the Beach Park traffic stop. Cook County prosecutors are reviewing the case and may bring charges stemming from the items found in the Chicago apartment.

Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg praised the work of his investigative team and referenced the recent federal designation of the county as a high-intensity drug trafficking area.

“I am extremely proud of our deputies and the members of our Special Investigations Group who successfully removed a total of nearly seven pounds of methamphetamine and other deadly drugs from our community," Idleburg said in a statement. "Having recently received a federal HIDTA designation, our Special Investigation Group will have even more ability to keep drugs out of our community.”