CHICAGO (AP) - A former Chicago police sergeant wanted on federal drug and conspiracy charges was arrested in Detroit after nearly 15 years on the run, the FBI announced Tuesday.
Eddie Hicks was the alleged ringleader of a crew of five men that posed as federal drug agents to shake down drug dealers for cash and narcotics. Hicks and other members of the crew were arrested in 2001.
Federal documents filed after his arrest quoted an unnamed cooperating witness as saying Hicks was part of a police “rip-off crew” that raided drug apartments, grabbing up cash and narcotics and leaving without arresting anyone.
Hicks was apprehended in Detroit on Tuesday morning and appeared in U.S. District Court, where he was ordered held until he can be brought to Chicago to face charges filed against him.
During his court appearance, Hicks, 68, waived his right to a hearing to establish his identity and agreed to be brought immediately to Chicago, according to court records.
The indictment said Hicks and his co-defendants not only ripped off apartments but staged traffic-stop robberies, dealt drugs and used unmarked police cars for transportation.
It said they also used bogus search warrants and falsely identified themselves as members of a federal drug enforcement task force.
The FBI placed the drugs in apartments made to appear to look like drug houses, equipping them with hidden audio and video equipment. A drug dealer turned informant tipped Hicks off to the locations, the charges alleged, and two police civilian employees were captured on video breaking into the apartments and leaving with thousands of dollars.
A longtime narcotics officer, Hicks retired from the Chicago Police Department while under federal investigation in March 2000.
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