Chicago and Evanston Police bust drug dealers

The Chicago Police Department announced June 19 the successful completion of a joint effort with the Evanston police to shut down two open-air drug markets operating between and within both cities.

The undercover investigation, called Operation Triple Threat, started in March and culminated on June 13 with the arrest of 12 suspects. Six people are still wanted in connection with the investigation.

The Chicago Police’s narcotics and bang investigation section and the Evanston Police’s neighborhood enforcement team began the operation after receiving complaints from local residents of both Rogers Park and Evanston.

Initial intelligence showed the gang, the Insane Black Mafia, was dealing crack cocaine on the border of Chicago and Evanston.

“They did not count on us having a relationship with Evanston,” said Sgt. Landon Wade.

Wade said some deals would start on one side of the border and end on the other because the suspects believed the two departments would not be working together.

At the 24th District Police Station, Wade showed video of the sting, which confiscated 97.4 grams of crack cocaine and $4,215. On the video shown at the press conference, suspects were shown making deals from their cars and on the street.

“These guys acted without regard for the public,” said Wade as video of drug transactions being made in broad daylight played. If convicted, the suspects would face sentences of between two to 30 years.

The gang targeted by police was said to be in its “infancy” by officials. Most of the gang members lived in Chicago, officials said. The new gang was a recent break-away from a more established gang, the Black P Stones targeted last November in a similar operation.

Since that time, two surveillance cameras have been installed on Howard Street, with mixed results. The cameras didn’t capture any criminal activity. But official say that’s because the gang members specifically avoided the easily recognized blue lights that mark the cameras.

The quick resurgence of gang activity in the area after the November bust prompted Craig Gernhardt, a local resident, to question whether the police were making headway against crime in Rogers Park.

“There is always a void that is created when we get rid of dealers,” said Wade. “But every time we close down a gang we get closer to stopping that void from being filled.”

Wade said police recognize that drug customers are another part of the problem.

“When the operation concluded we did not leave the area,” said Acting 24th District Commander Roger Whalen. The day after the suspected dealers were arrested, the police conducted a reverse sting targeting buyers and arrested three people attempting to purchase crack.

Ald. Bernard Stone (50th) spoke at the press conference, though none of the operation or the arrests made occurred in his ward. Stone praised the police for having “stopped a really dangerous gang at their beginning stages.”

For his part, Richard Eddington, chief of police for the Evanston Police Department, promised “this level of cooperation will continue between Chicago and Evanston.”