Elgin police arrest dealer with $300,000 worth of cocaine

An Elgin drug dealer was being held on $1 million bond Saturday after police nabbed him with cocaine, cash and guns during a Friday afternoon undercover drug buy, police said.

Police say that Jorge A. Tejeda, 38, of the 300 block of North Crystal Street, Elgin, tried to buy three kilograms of cocaine at 3:30 p.m. from an undercover officer on the city's northwest side. The cocaine has a street value of $300,000, said Sgt. James Lullo.

During the transaction, Tejeda also had six grams of a powdery substance that he tried to pass off as cocaine to the undercover officer, Lullo said. Police do not yet know what that substance was.

Police said they seized $40,700, a .38 caliber Kel-Tec handgun and a .9mm Glock pistol from Tejeda during the arrest.

Lullo, head of the department's narcotics enforcement and technical investigations units, said the investigation had been going on for about a month. Tejeda's arrest is significant, as far as Elgin drug dealers go, he said.

"He's not the biggest, but I would consider him a mid level to a large dealer," Lullo said.

Tejeda was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a look-alike substance and possession of a firearm without a valid FOID card.

His bond was set Saturday morning at $1 million, which means he needs $100,000 to secure his release while the case is pending at the Kane County Judicial Center.

Tejeda was unable to post bond Saturday and is awaiting his April 8 court date in the Kane County lockup. If found guilty of one the most serious charges, he could spend between six and 30 years in prison.