Public’s Help Sought in Search for Mexican Drug Fugitive

Robert D. Grant, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is asking for the public’s help in locating a former Aurora resident who is wanted by the FBI for his involvement in a drug distribution operation, which smuggled kilogram quantities of cocaine into the Chicago area.

ENRIQUE SANCHEZ, SR., age 62, whose last known address was 823 East Galena Boulevard in Aurora, has been the subject of a nationwide manhunt, coordinated by Chicago FBI, since April of last year, when he was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago with violation of federal drug laws.

The senior SANCHEZ, whose son Enrique Sanchez, Jr., is alleged to have managed the smuggling operation, was among 16 people charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, which is a felony offense. The senior Sanchez is one of three defendants from this case who escaped capture and is still at large. The complaint alleges SANCHEZ acted as a courier for his son’s drug operation, smuggling cash to the Dallas, Texas area and returning to Chicago with wholesale quantities of cocaine.

ENRIQUE SANCHEZ, Sr., who is a Mexican national, is described as a Hispanic male, 62 years of age, 5’8” tall, stocky build, weighing approximately 225 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone recognizing SANCHEZ or having any information as to his current whereabouts is asked to call the Chicago FBI at (312) 421-6700.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Copies of the wanted flyer or the criminal complaint filed in this case are available from the Chicago FBI’s press office at (312) 829-1199.