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.

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