Federal Sting Operation Leads To Drug Trafficking Charges For Duo

SKOKIE, IL — A pair of Glenview men arrested Monday as part of a joint state and federal drug trafficking investigation face mandatory minimum prison sentences if convicted.

Mahmud Baker, 25, of the 1700 block of Greenwood Road, and Yoon Cho, 23, of the 3900 block of Triumvera Drive, appeared in court for the first time Wednesday in Skokie.

Both men have been charged in Cook County court with trafficking a controlled substance, a class X felony carrying a sentence of between six and 30 years in state prison.

According to prosecutors, the "high intensity drug trafficking area team" of the Cook County Sheriff's Police worked with Homeland Security officers, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to track a package following its arrival at O'Hare International Airport. A spokesperson for the sheriff's office said the package had come from Europe.

Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Alexandra O'Hehir said officers obtained a search warrant and a court order allowing them to track the package, which contained more than 300 pills of suspected ecstasy.

After an undercover postal inspector delivered the package to Baker's home, officers staking him out watched him take it and another package in his car to go pick up Cho.

"Moments later, investigators received the alert that the target parcel had been opened," O'Hehir said.

"Both defendants' hands were examined under a black light," she said, "and it was revealed that [Yoon] Cho opened the target parcel and handled the suspect ecstasy, as his hands had the theft detection powder on it."

O'Hehir said police also found another package in the center console with about 90 pills of suspected clonazepam, a benzodiazepine with the brand name Klonopin.

Last month, Baker was sentenced to two years probation after he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance in McHenry County, records show. Cho does not have a criminal record.

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James Hyun, Cho's defense attorney, said it was his client's first arrest. He said Cho has lived in the U.S. since the age of 2, and he currently attends Oakton Community College and intends to be a physical therapist.

"Obviously, there's a little bit of a disagreement on this," Hyun said, asking the judge for a recognizance bond.

"An I-bond for a class X?" asked Cook County Associate Judge Frank Andreu, before ordering that Cho remain jailed unless he posts the $25,000 cash portion of his bail.

Andreu set the cash portion of Baker's bond at $50,000, citing his current probation status. Both men are due back in court June 1 for a bond review hearing.

"A lot of weight, class X felonies, that's why the bonds were so high," the judge said. "They both pose a threat to the community at large, they clearly are involved in trafficking."