Cocaine Smugglers Collared By County Deputies: Cops

Three Chicago drug smugglers were captured by Will County deputies and nine kilos of cocaine were seized, police said.

Sheriff’s deputies received information from another agency about a drug shipment on its way from Texas, police said, and on Thursday, they stopped two cars carrying three men on Interstate 57 near Peotone.

“While deputies spoke with the subjects they appeared evasive in their answers to routine questions,” the sheriff’s department said in a press release. “The sheriff's office K-9 Unit was called to the scene where the dogs indicated the possible presence of illegal drugs on one of the vehicles.”

Deputies reportedly searched the cars and found nine kilos of coke in one of them.

“During questioning it was determined that both vehicles and all three occupants were involved in the incident,” police said.

The three men — Jose Lopez, 40, Ernesto Zuniga, 50, and Adrian Montanez, 43 — were all arrested and taken to the Will County jail.

The cocaine is worth more than $200,000, police said.

Jose Lopez, Adrian Montanez and Ernesto Zuniga | images via Will County Sheriff's Department