Chicago Bears wide receiver and special teams contributor Sam Hurd was arrested late Wednesday night in Chicago and now faces major federal drug charges stemming from a July incident in North Texas. The criminal complaint and the attached affidavit of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent has become available and here are some of the details about the origins of the charges:
- It is alleged that Hurd did "knowingly, intentionally and unlawfully combine, conspire, confederate, and agree together, and with other persons known and unknown, to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine..."
- One of Hurd's associates had been negotiating a major drug purchase of four kilograms of cocaine with a criminal informant in July of 2011, and when federal investigators stopped Hurd's vehicle pursuant to their investigation on July 27th, they seized a bag full of marijuana and $88,000 in cash.
- Hurd then allegedly resumed operations to obtain large quantities of cocaine for distribution in December, and Hurd became involved in face-to-face dealings with an undercover agent on December 14th. He told the federal agent that he was interested in purchasing five to ten kilos of cocaine, and 1,000 pounds of marijuana per week to distribute and deal in the Chicago area.
- Hurd then received a kilo of coke from the agent and made arrangements to make payment after team practice, at which point Hurd was arrested.
The Chicago Bears have issued the following statement on Hurd's arrest:
We are aware of Sam's arrest and are continuing to gather details surrounding it," the Bears said in a statement. We are disappointed whenever these circumstances arise. We will deal with them appropriately once we have all the information.
This may be the biggest drug case in NFL history.
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