Former Chicago police Sgt. Eddie Hicks on Sept. 19, 2017. (FBI)
A 15-year international manhunt for a former Chicago police sergeant facing federal drug conspiracy charges ended Tuesday after the man was arrested in Detroit.
Eddie Hicks, 68, was charged in 2001 with leading a group of corrupt officers who used fake search warrants to rob drug dealers. Authorities said his crew would keep the illicit money for themselves and then sell the drugs, the Chicago Tribune reported.
He fled the night before his trial was set to begin in 2003 and was believed to have traveled to Brazil.
Hicks worked on the Chicago Police Department for 29 years, spending most of his time as a narcotics officer. Authorities say Hicks and his men extorted drug dealers for nearly 10 years before one bust went wrong, leading to Hicks’ eventual arrest.
In 2000 Hicks raided the house of a drug dealer while he was on the phone with his girlfriend. Thinking her boyfriend was being attacked, she called the police who showed up to find Hicks and his men already onsite.
The arriving officers were suspicious of the story they received from Hicks and his men, which led to an FBI investigation, authorities said. The men were arrested in February 2001.
After his Tuesday arrest, Hicks later appeared in court, where he waived his right to a hearing to establish his identity, the Tribune reported.
He will be brought immediately to Chicago to face charges.
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