Ingleside business raided, owner charged with trafficking cocaine

A 36-year-old Northbrook man was charged with drug trafficking and other crimes after Lake County sheriff's office detectives uncovered nearly 1,000 grams of cocaine from his Ingleside business Friday, according to a news release.

Antonio R. Perez-Amezquita, of the 0-100 block of Cottonwood Road, is charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, armed violence and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

A Lake County judge set Perez-Amezquita's bond at $50,000, and on Saturday he put up $5,000 cash, 10% of the bond amount, to be released from jail while his trial is pending, sheriff's Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said.

Covelli said detectives also recovered a handgun, drug packing material and more than $20,000 in cash investigators referred to as drug money.

Covelli said detectives were investigating Perez-Amezquita for more than four months but declined to say what led him to be on investigators' radar.

On Friday, deputies executed a search warrant of the business Perez-Amezquita owns on the 800 block of Grand Avenue in Ingleside. The only businesses on that block are a bar and a liquor store. Covelli declined to say which of the two businesses Perez-Amezquita owns.

Lake County Liquor Commission officials were not immediately available for comment on whether Perez-Amezquita's license might be revoked as a result of his recent charges.

"We have zero tolerance for violence and drug trafficking in our community," Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg said.

Perez-Amezquita is next due in court on Thursday.