A man who manages a Woodstock automotive shop and was arrested by an FBI SWAT team Friday is accused of leading a drug trafficking organization, with the feds saying he sold fentanyl-laced cocaine out of a back room of the shop.
Genaro Bahena-Arellano, 50, of Carpentersville, was charged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois with one count of knowingly and intentionally distributing a controlled substance containing cocaine.
A criminal complaint, which was filed under seal earlier this month and signed by a federal judge, alleges the offense occurred on July 17 at Woodstock Automotive Service, 725 Lake Avenue in Woodstock.
The DEA Rockford Resident Office, the Illinois State Police North Central Narcotics Task Force and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit had been investigating a drug trafficking organization operating in McHenry County.
Investigators believe it is responsible for transporting and distributing controlled substances throughout northern Illinois, a DEA special agent said in an affidavit supporting the complaint.
Investigating agents identified Bahena-Arellano as the leader of the organization, the affidavit said.
The investigation began in July when the DEA Rockford Resident Office received information from a confidential source about Bahena-Arellano.
The source told agents they had been introduced to Bahena-Arellano through a mutual friend in July at Woodstock Automotive Service, where Bahena-Arellano works, the affidavit said.
Bahena-Arellano is listed as one of three managers of Woodstock Automotive Service LLC, according to Illinois Secretary of State records.
The company was formally organized in March 2020 and was involuntarily dissolved by the state in September 2021 after it failed to file its annual report, records show.
Bahena-Arellano allegedly told the source he could sell ounce or kilogram quantities of cocaine, gave the source his phone number and said any drug transactions would take place at the shop.
The affidavit said the confidential source has cooperated with law enforcement since 2022.
The source told agents on July 14 they met Bahena-Arellano around the prior weekend and that he offered to sell about nine ounces of cocaine for $5,900, the affidavit said.
The source made a recorded phone call to Bahena-Arellano on July 15 in the presence of agents to arrange a purchase of 4.5 ounces of cocaine during the day on July 17, according to the affidavit.
The conversation was in Spanish and was translated by an investigating agent.
During the call, the source said, “I will be there around 12,” and Bahena-Arellano asked, “To tie the thing?” The source replied, “Yes, to tie that thing,” and Bahena-Arellano said, “Okay, I will have to order it to get it dropped off here,” according to the affidavit.
The source then asked, “Okay, it will be four and a half for three, right?” and Bahena-Arellano replied, “Yes,” according to the affidavit.
Agents said the exchange referred to 4.5 ounces of cocaine for $3,000.
Agents met the source on July 17 at a predetermined location. The source made another recorded call to Bahena-Arellano to confirm the deal, telling him, “I’m on my way.”
Bahena-Arellano replied, “Okay, the order is on the way. Almost here,” the affidavit said.
Agents searched the source and their vehicle for contraband, provided the source with $3,000 in DEA funds and equipped the source with an audio and video recording device before setting up surveillance at the shop, according to the affidavit.
A task force inspector saw a white Ford pickup truck arrive around 11:44 a.m. and park in front of the building.
An unidentified man wearing khaki shorts, a black tank top and a black hat got out of the truck, met with Bahena-Arellano and handed him a white plastic bag, which Bahena-Arellano carried inside the shop, the affidavit said.
The source arrived around 11:51 a.m. and met with Bahena-Arellano, according to the affidavit.
Agents monitoring the live audio and video feed watched the two walk through the garage’s overhead doors, along the northwest wall of the building and up several steps to a storage area that led to a back room.
Bahena-Arellano allegedly told the source inside the room, “Here is the bread,” which agents said referred to cocaine, and opened the top drawer of a dresser where he was seen holding a large Ziploc bag.
Bahena-Arellano told the source, “Pick whatever you want,” and the source asked him to weigh the cocaine, the affidavit said.
Bahena-Arellano said, “It has to be 112,” and then, “Look, it’s 115,” referring to grams, according to the affidavit. The video showed a scale on top of the dresser.
Bahena-Arellano then asked, “Are you going to pay?” and the source handed over the $3,000, which Bahena-Arellano laid out on a bed inside the room to count, the affidavit said.
The source asked Bahena-Arellano if he could also sell crystal methamphetamine. He allegedly replied, “Let me talk to my guy. If he can get it, I will send you a message.”
The source left the shop around 11:56 a.m. and was followed by agents back to the predetermined location where the source turned over two plastic baggies containing a chunky white substance, according to the affidavit.
The source told agents Bahena-Arellano had additional cocaine in the Ziploc bag with several chunks of the substance individually bagged.
The substance field tested positive for the probable presence of cocaine and fentanyl, the affidavit said. The total net weight was approximately 179.5 grams.
A federal arrest warrant for Bahena-Arellano was issued on September 1.
The warrant was carried out around 10:30 a.m. Friday at Woodstock Automotive Service by the DEA and Illinois State Police, with support from the FBI, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and the Woodstock Police Department, a DEA spokesperson told Lake and McHenry County Scanner.
An FBI SWAT team was deployed and the City of Woodstock asked residents to avoid the area of Kimball Avenue and Lake Avenue for approximately two hours.
The DEA hinted that the arrest was unrelated to an immigration enforcement operation at the same shop earlier in the morning.
McHenry County Rapid Response said a man was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the shop’s parking lot around 8 a.m. Friday.
Bahena-Arellano made an initial appearance in custody on Friday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael F. Iasparro at the federal courthouse in Rockford, court records show.
A Spanish interpreter was present for the hearing and an attorney was appointed by the court to represent Bahena-Arellano.
Prosecutors sought to have Bahena-Arellano detained pending trial and Iasparro ordered Bahena-Arellano held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service awaiting a detention hearing, which is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday.