The Lake County Sheriff’s Special Investigations Group (formerly known as the Sheriff’s Gang Task Force) recorded a successful first three-quarters in 2019, seizing over $1,000,000.00 worth of illegal drugs. This compares to seizures of approximately $750,000.00 in all of 2017 and $530,000.00 in all of 2018.
Shortly after being elected, Sheriff John Idleburg refocused the direction of the Special Investigations Group to aggressively investigate and arrest drug pushers, human traffickers, and those illegally selling firearms.
The Special Investigations Group is run by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and consists of numerous federal and local law-enforcement partners, who work collaboratively to investigate those who prey on our community.
To date in 2019 the Special Investigations Group seized the following:
Illegally Possessed Firearms 40
Cannabis Over 1,700 grams
Cannabis Plants 12
Cocaine (powder) Over 8,300 grams
Cocaine (crack) Over 90 grams
Ecstasy 24 pills
Heroin Over 915 grams
Methamphetamine 4.9 grams
Illegally Possessed Prescription Pills Over 340 pills
Additionally, this year the Special Investigations Group arrested a human trafficker and rescued a juvenile victim forced into prostitution.
The following law-enforcement agencies are current members of the Special Investigations Group:
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)
Homeland Security (HSI)
Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office
Lake County Forest Preserve Police
Grayslake Police Department
Gurnee Police Department
Lake Villa Police Department
Lakemoor Police Department
North Chicago Police Department
Park City Police Department
Wauconda Police Department
Zion Police Department
Sheriff John Idleburg said, “When I am in the community, I see and hear from others about the devastation drugs have on families. When we collaborate and share law-enforcement resources we see great results for the community we serve. We have no tolerance for criminals who choose to prey on our community, and the Special Investigations Group will proactively investigate and arrest those who make the poor choice to victimize others.”