Pubdate: Wed, 28 Jan 2009
Source: Journal Gazette (Mattoon, IL)
Copyright: 2009sJournal Gazette
Contact:  http://www.jg-tc.com/index.php
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4180
Author: ROB STROUD, Staff Writer

POLICE OFFICER OF YEAR HELPED SEVER CANNABIS PIPELINE

CHARLESTON ­ The investigation started in August with a small inquiry 
into the sale of cannabis in Charleston.

Charleston Police Chief Mark Jenkins said the investigation has since 
led to the top of the cannabis' supply line and taken down several 
people responsible for the flow of drugs into Charleston, Mattoon and 
other east-central Illinois communities.

"It is clear to me that this is not the type of case that a local 
police officer develops very often," Jenkins said.

Jenkins said this is why he nominated the officer, Zack Bryan, who 
developed that case, for the 2008 Coles County Police Officer of the 
Year award from American Legion Post 88 in Mattoon. The legion 
presented Bryan with this honor on Jan. 15.

Bryan has served with the Charleston Police Department since 2001 and 
has been assigned for the past 18 months to the East Central Illinois 
Task Force. Officers from various police agencies in the area enforce 
drug laws through this unit, overseen by the Illinois State Police.

The Charleston officer said he is honored to receive the Coles County 
award for his role in the investigation but was quick to add that 
every officer in the task force took part this case.

"You could not ask for a better group of guys to work with," Bryan said.

Jenkins said the investigation began with a "controlled buy" of five 
pounds of cannabis from a man residing on West Polk Avenue in 
Charleston. He said the man was arrested and a search warrant was 
obtained for his home, yielding 5 more pounds of cannabis and $7,000 in cash.

Investigators followed the supply chain in September to a man in 
Danville and then a man in Springfield who were arrested, Jenkins 
said. Approximately 100 pounds of cannabis and seven firearms were 
seized after a search warrant was obtained for the Springfield 
residence, he said.

The Springfield man identified his drug source in Texas and also 
identified the location of 96 kilos of cocaine that were being 
shipped into Atlanta International Airport in October, Jenkins said. 
Drug Enforcement Administration agents confiscated this cocaine from 
a shipping crate.

Bryan and Scott Standerfer from the East Central Illinois Task Force 
flew to Texas in February and interviewed the source of the drugs, 
Jenkins said. This information led to drug investigations in Illinois 
and four other states, he said.

Jenkins said Bryan played a leading role in February in a sting that 
led to the arrest of four members of the Mexican "Gulf" cartel who 
had driven down from Chicago to purchase cocaine that had been 
smuggled out of Mexico. He said this arrest led to the seizure of 
$49,000 in cash.

The investigation is still ongoing and expanding and includes several 
federal agencies now, Jenkins said.

"This investigation has led to the solving of a kidnapping where the 
victim was returned safely, and an attempted murder in Champaign 
where the victim refuses to testify or speak with the police," Jenkins said.

Bryan said he knew growing up in Moultrie County that he wanted to be 
a police officer, particularly in the narcotics field. He said this 
work gives him a chance to "really dig into" an investigation and use 
a "gift for gab" with those he encounters.

He took his first job in law enforcement at the Charleston Police 
Department and has a long range plan to finish out his career there, 
Bryan said.

"There is a tight knit, core group of friends I have back here in the 
department," Bryan said.
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