CHAMPAIGN – Investigators with the University of Illinois Police Department broke up a sizable drug operation Tuesday.
Around 8:43 p.m., officers with the Target Response Unit almost simultaneously searched two apartments in Champaign near campus – one in the 200 block of East Chalmers Street and another in the 500 block of South Third Street.
Police found cannabis packaging materials and other equipment in the first apartment, the home of 21-year-old Kishon T. McCormick. Upon searching the Third Street apartment, where McCormick is believed to also have been staying, investigators found about 745 grams (potentially worth $6,500) of marijuana and another $5,221 in cash.
McCormick, who was leaving the Third Street apartment as police arrived, was arrested for possession of cannabis with intent to deliver and transported to the Champaign County Jail.
“The goal here is not to punish low-level offenders, but to make it harder for them to get their hands on the stuff in the first place,” said U. of I. Police Lt. Joe McCullough. “By targeting these larger operations and putting dealers in jail, we can stem the flow of drugs onto campus and hopefully prevent the problems our students and others face when they fall into dependence or addiction.”
UIPD’s Targeted Response Unit focuses on investigating larger drug operations in the Champaign-Urbana area which are funneling drugs into campus. Within recent months, the unit has made arrests and seized large amounts of cannabis, cocaine, MDMA or “molly,” psilocybin mushrooms, heroin and other drugs.
“Another concern that we’ve had are the narcotic-related robberies to mid-level dealers,” McCullough said. “These kinds of operations introduce the potential for violent incidents that we’re looking to prevent.”
