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Marion bust seizes kilo of cocaine
By BEVIN PEPPARD
The Marion Star

MARION — An undercover operation has lead to what officials believe is the largest drug buy executed by authorities in the county’s history.

Detectives working on the local drug task force on Thursday stopped a kilo of cocaine from reaching the streets through a controlled purchase, said Lt. B.J. Gruber with the Marion Police Department.

“Every week we take ounces of cocaine off the streets,” Gruber said. “To take this much off the streets is a pretty big deal.”
The kilo is estimated to be worth between $18,000 and $22,000. However, that street value can quickly grow as dealers often add other substances to pure cocaine to increase the volume and make more money, Gruber said.

“That $22,000 can turn into $44,000 into $66,000,” he said.

Using an informant, detectives were able to agree to meet with an out-of-town dealer for the purchase of the kilo. At around 10 p.m. Thursday, MARMET/METRICH detectives, in conjunction with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Marion Police Department, met at the agreed upon location. They were able to remove the cocaine and the money they used for the buy, along with two suspects, without incident.

Sitlahuer “Chilo” Vazquez, 19, of Celina, Ohio, was arrested on a charge of trafficking in drugs. The other suspect taken into custody was an unidentified 17-year-old female.

Vazquez was transported to the Multi-County Correction Center where he remains on a $250,000 cash/corporate bond. Because he is an illegal alien in the United States, however, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a “holder” on him, making him ineligible for release. The juvenile remains in custody at the Edward J. Ruzzo Juvenile Detention Center.

“This is the first time we’ve purchased a kilo of cocaine,” Gruber said. “In the big picture for us, this is a pretty big deal.”

Gruber said that several years ago, a driver was stopped with over two kilos of cocaine, but that this was the first buy of its kind in Marion and the surrounding areas.

“This particular operation was fluid,” he said. “From an operational standpoint it went off without a hitch.”