Suburban residents among 21 charged in drug ring

An international conspiracy to smuggle and sell millions of dollars in marijuana and Ecstasy unraveled Thursday with authorities charging multiple suspects from Chicago, Canada and the suburbs.

Undercover work by DuPage County sheriff's detectives played a key part in busting the drug ring, which originated at a Chinatown brothel, authorities said.

"This was a good example of local and federal authorities working together to crush a major network," DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said.

Federal prosecutors charged 21 people with conspiracy to possess and distribute marijuana and pills containing Ecstasy and methamphetamine, including individuals from Arlington Heights and Morton Grove and a former Des Plaines resident.

Eleven suspects were arrested Thursday in Chicago and one was apprehended in Connecticut with additional arrests anticipated.

The cabal included individuals with connections to the Latin Kings street gang, officials said.

The drugs were smuggled from Toronto across the border by car and truck to dealers in Chicago. Officials seized more than 180,000 pills containing Ecstasy worth about $6.25 million, several thousand marijuana plants and $500,000 in cash.

Investigators estimated millions of dollars of Ecstasy had already been sold on the streets.

U.S. Attorney Peter Fitzgerald said the conspiracy began at a Chinatown brothel in November 2003, when Chicagoan Yong Ouyang, 32, who had ties to Canadian drug suppliers, was introduced to fellow customer Sejin Oh, 37, of Arlington Heights. Oh became one of the leaders of the Chicago drug distribution end, officials said.

The first shipment of 10,000 Ecstasy pills, worth about $25 each, and 20 to 30 pounds of marijuana took place later that month.

The investigation took four years and involved DuPage County, plus U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

DuPage sheriff's detectives became involved in December 2003 when an informant told an officer of a dealer in the area with a large amount of marijuana.

Undercover investigators met with the dealers several times between 2003 and 2004 in Lombard, Oak Brook and Park Ridge. The officers were told they'd been subject to "background checks" and were cleared of any suspicion of being police.

One of the undercover officers also traveled to Windsor, Ontario, to discuss drug purchases with the suppliers.

"These guys have very dangerous work and they should be recognized for it," Birkett said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took up a separate thread of the case in 2003 and the two investigations merged.

"This case demonstrates that law enforcement agencies won't just stop at county or international borders," Fitzgerald said.

Also charged were former Des Plaines resident Carlo Panadero, 36, and Morton Grove residents Andrew So, 39, and Henry Chun, 36.