By Jim Barnett
CNN.com
WASHINGTON — NFL player Samuel Hurd has been arrested and charged with conspiring to distribute cocaine, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Thursday.
Agents say Hurd, 26, a wide receiver for the Chicago Bears, was arrested Wednesday night after a five-month investigation that began in Dallas, where Hurd once played for the Cowboys. Authorities say he was trying to set up a drug distribution network in Chicago.
The complaint states that Hurd met with an ICE undercover agent at a restaurant in Chicago on Wednesday night when, law enforcement officials say, Hurd introduced himself as the person communicating with a confidential informant.
Hurd stated that he was interested in purchasing 5 to 10 kilograms of cocaine, at $25,000 per kilogram, and 1,000 pounds of marijuana at $450 per pound per week for distribution in the Chicago area, according to ICE.
Hurd said that “he and another co-conspirator currently distribute about four kilograms of cocaine per week in Chicago but that his supplier couldn’t supply him with enough quantity,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said.
After they finished negotiating, according to the complaint, the undercover agent presented Hurd with a kilogram of cocaine that Hurd accepted.
“Hurd stated that he plays for the Chicago Bears and that he gets out of practice at about 5:30 p.m., after which he would make arrangements to pay for the kilogram of cocaine,” ICE officials said in a news release, “Hurd left the restaurant with the bag of cocaine and was arrested shortly thereafter in the parking lot of the restaurant.”
If convicted, Hurd faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. CNN’s efforts to contact Hurd’s lawyers were unsuccessful Thursday afternoon.
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