When code words like 'tamales' actually mean drugs

When is picking up a pair of pants from the tailor and buying a tamale - or maybe a whole pot of them - not quite what it seems?

Perhaps when there are drug deals involved.

Court documents detailing a yearlong effort to bring down a multimillion-dollar drug pipeline that shipped dozens of kilograms of heroin from Mexico to the suburbs reveal the secret phrases and code words authorities say suspected smugglers used to keep their operations hidden.

Affidavits detailing the probe reveal the secretive language authorities say the accused dealers used hoping to persuade anyone listening that they were engaged in mundane chatter.

In one case, authorities say, a suspected smuggler informed a cohort of an incoming shipment by texting "He's going to give you some girls so you can go out dancing." His partner replied, "When is the party, sir, so I can take them out shopping for their dresses."

Or, in another intercepted conversation, a suspect says a customer has ordered four shirts - code for 4 kilos, investigators say.

"The four shirts that he ordered are on the way," one of the suspects replies, later adding "The shirts did fit Jose," after the alleged transaction went smoothly. But in another case, a dissatisfied customer "returned the pants."

Getting pants from the tailor and picking up your aunt were among the other coded phrases, authorities say, and "tamales," "boilers" and "tubes" were among the code words for illegal drugs. In one conversation, an accused dealer said he went to deliver a single tamale to a customer, who ended up buying the whole pot.

The investigation culminated this week with federal authorities announcing the arrests of 19 people, including residents of Hanover Park, Aurora and Bensenville and the seizure of more than 190 kilograms of heroin. They said the operation worked out of locations in Naperville, St. Charles, Hanover Park and Sugar Grove, among other parts of the Chicago area.

More than words

Secret language isn't the only way the accused smugglers tried to outwit drug enforcement agents, authorities say. According to federal filings, the operation used some creative storage techniques to keep their drugs hidden.

In some instances, authorities say, they filled hollowed out semitrailer axles with heroin for the trek from Mexico to Illinois. Once they arrived here, the axles were emptied and then refilled with cash - in one case, nearly $250,000 - for the return trip.

In another instance, investigators found about 2 kilos of heroin stashed in a minivan's secret compartment made to look like a stereo speaker. The van's owner was known among his peers as "the guy with the sounds," according to intercepted communications.

Award winners

Congrats to Lake County sheriff's Sgt. Chris Dador and Detective Kevin Harris for their selection this week as Command Officer of the Year and Deputy of the Year, respectively, by the Waukegan Exchange Club.

Dador has served with the sheriff's office since 1997 and currently serves as patrol supervisor while overseeing the Lake County Sheriff's Honor Guard. Last year, he coordinated 12 Honor Guard events, including nine line-of-duty police funerals. He's also the Lake County Sheriff's Office Peer Support Coordinator, where he provides assistance to co-workers in need.

Harris joined the sheriff's office in 2006, and was transferred to investigations about a year later.

Don't mess with taxes

A DuPage County tobacco store manager is now in Stateville prison after pleading guilty to defrauding the state out of more than $200,000 in sales taxes, according to the Illinois attorney general's office.

Abdullah Dahleh, 36, of Oak Lawn, entered prison Tuesday to serve a two-year sentence for filing a fraudulent tax return. According to the attorney general, Dahleh underreported more than $2.79 million in sales between 2011 and 2014, when he was managing Tobacco Outlet Cigarettes, Cigars and More in Willowbrook. "We will continue our work to hold dishonest business owners accountable for illegally profiting at the expense of the state," Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a news release.

Saying goodbye

A coffee-and-cake reception will be held from 1:30 to 4 p.m. May 3 at the Batavia Government Center for Police Chief Gary Schira, who is retiring for real. Schira spent 34 years as a Bloomingdale officer before retiring there, then 11 years as Batavia's top cop.

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