Elgin man gets 23 years in prison for Naperville heroin bust
A 50-year-old Elgin man has been sentenced to 23 years in prison after pleading guilty to heroin-related charges.
Eduardo Lara-Cardenas, formerly of the 300 block of McClure Road, pleaded guilty Friday to unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
On May 16, Amtrak employees in California alerted authorities after observing Lara-Cardenas acting suspiciously. Lara-Cardenas then boarded a train bound for Naperville.
The next day, agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Naperville police watched Lara-Cardenas exit the train with two duffel bags and enter an awaiting vehicle.
During an ensuing traffic stop, prosecutors said Lara-Cardenas consented to a search of the duffel bags, which contained more than 900 grams of heroin with a street value of roughly $160,000. Lara-Cardenas has been held on $1 million bail since his arrest.
"Thanks to the cooperative efforts of Amtrak authorities, the DEA and the Naperville Police Department, we were able to not only put this defendant behind bars where he belongs, but we were also able to take an extremely large amount of heroin off the streets," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement. "In addition to the potential lives saved thanks to the interception of this shipment of heroin, today's sentencing sends the message that if you attempt to bring killer drugs to DuPage County you will be caught, prosecuted and sentenced to a significant amount of time behind bars."
Lara-Cardenas must serve at least 75 percent of the sentence before being eligible for parole.