Kane authorities make $2.1 million heroin bust
Kane County sheriff's deputies arrested a 26-year-old Aurora man Sunday after he picked up a package containing nearly five pounds of heroin worth an estimated $2.1 million at an Aurora bus terminal.
Avran T. Lechuga, of the 700 block of Superior Street, has been charged with controlled substance trafficking, manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance, all felonies, according to court records and the sheriff's office.
At about 1 p.m. Sunday, Kane County sheriff's detectives were conducting a drug interdiction operation at the Aurora Transportation Center, 233 N, Broadway Ave., said Lt. Pat Gengler.
"They came across a package that wound up containing 4.6 pounds of heroin," said Gengler, who noted drugs are often shipped via bus to the suburbs where someone ultimately retrieves the package.
Detectives allowed Lechuga to pick up the package and take it back to his residence. He later was arrested, and the drugs seized along with $7,600 and a .22-caliber handgun, Gengler said.
If convicted, Lechuga faces up to 30 years in prison.
His bail has been set at $5 million and if he posts $500,000 bond, he must prove it comes from legitimate sources if he is to be released while the case is pending.
Lechuga does not have any previous arrests or convictions in Kane County, records show.
"This gentlemen has no prior arrest history and was merely picking up a package. Beyond that, I have no comment," said Robert Rascia, Lechuga's attorney.