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Police Say Kent Cocaine Bust One Of NE Ohio's Biggest

POSTED: 3:48 pm EDT May 5, 2008
UPDATED: 5:19 pm EDT May 5, 2008

There's new information about a nearly $2 million cocaine bust at Kent University Airport over the weekend.

Officers said the drugs came in aboard a small plane, and it is being called on of the biggest drug busts in northeast Ohio with a street value of as much as $2 million, and now federal authorities are involved in the case, reported NewsChannel5.

Police video showed a K-9 getting a hit on a plane that landed late Friday night. Police said they found suitcases filled with 30 kilos of cocaine in single packages hidden in a luggage compartment.

"I've been in police work 33 years and I've never been directly involved in something like this," said Stow Police Department's Chief Louis Dirker.

At a press conference Monday, Dirker called it one of the biggest cocaine busts ever in Summit County, with a market value of $750,000 and a street value double or triple that..

Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles alerted the Kent State University Police Department about a shipment of cocaine that was being flown into the airport.

When it landed it was immediately surrounded by police from Stow, Kent State and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Authorities arrested 35-year-old Robert Hawes of Cleveland, a driver waiting in the parking lot, along with a passenger on the plane, 27-year-old Tommy Gonzales, of California.

Also arrested was the 45-year-old pilot, Malcolm Sales, of California.

"This is significant in that we've uncovered a source of supply and organization that we didn't know about before," said John Ferster of the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Authorities said they don't know how Immigration and Customs got the information, but said they believe Summit County was the final destination for the drugs.

They're now turning the case over to the DEA.

Authorities said none of the suspects have any ties or affiliations with Kent State University.

They were arraigned on cocaine possession charges and are being held in the Summit County Jail.





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