Suspect in I-88 drug bust near Rock Falls had more than 6K grams of heroin: police

ROCK FALLS – A Washington man who Illinois State Police arrested last week following an Interstate 88 traffic stop had more than 6,000 grams of heroin in his possession, with a street value that could approach more than $1 million, authorities said.

The arrest and subsequent charges against Miguel Angel Valencia, 31, Yakima, Washington, marks the second high-value drug bust in the area in a month.

Valencia, who police initially said was from Sterling, was arrested shortly before 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 11 on I-88 near Rock Falls.

Valencia was driving a 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander. State’s Attorney Terry Costello has filed a motion to seize the SUV via the civil forfeiture process, which allows the state to immediately seize money and other property “which is used or intended to be used” in illegal drug activity, before a defendant has been adjudicated.

According to the ISP, the street value of heroin is $10, to $20 per .10 of a gram, making the bust worth $600,000 to $1.2 million.

Valencia on Tuesday pleaded not guilty in Whiteside County Court to possession with intent to deliver more than 900 grams of heroin and possession of more than 900 grams of heroin, according to court records.

If convicted, Valencia faces six to 30 years on the first charge, and four to 15 on the second.

He was being held on $750,000 bond, and has a pretrial hearing scheduled for June 28. A public defender was appointed, and an interpreter will be provided.

The arrest comes on the heels of a similar drug seizure on April 28 along I-88 near Morrison.

Semitrailer driver Ronald Coleman, 43, of California, was arrested during an inspection; he was on his way to Chicago with two suitcases containing about 91 kilograms of cocaine, worth about $1.8 million, Morris Pasqual, acting United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said in a news release.

Coleman is charged in federal court in Rockford with possession with intent to distribute, and faces up to life in prison and $10 million fine if convicted.

The ISP’s Blackhawk Area Task Force, based in Sterling, assisted in that investigation, the release said.