This undated photo provided by the Will County Sheriff's Department in Joliet, Ill., shows Sylvain Bergeron, 42, of Quebec, Canada. According to the Illinois State Police, Bergeron was transporting more than $1 million worth of drugs when he was pulled over for talking on his cellphone on Interstate 355. Bergeron was booked into the county jail on charges of delivering more than 900 grams of cocaine, drug possession, improper lane usage and using a cellphone while driving. (AP Photo/Will County Sheriff's Department)
January 17, 2014 - 12:12 PM
MONTREAL - A senior security guard at an elite Quebec private school is facing criminal charges in Illinois after more than $1 million worth of cocaine was allegedly found in his vehicle.
The state attorney's office says Sylvain Bergeron was arrested last week in suburban Chicago after police allegedly discovered he was transporting more than 900 grams worth of cocaine.
Police told an Illinois newspaper, The Herald-News, that the estimated street value of the load was about $1.3 million.
A spokesman for Stanstead College says Illinois police called a school official to inform him of Bergeron's arrest.
Ross Murray says the 43-year-old Bergeron is in charge of nightwatchmen at the $20,000-per-year secondary school, which is about one kilometre from the Quebec-Vermont border.
Murray says Bergeron has been a fine, loyal employee at the school in Stanstead since he was hired in 2006.
He says officials there were shocked by news of his arrest.
Murray says Bergeron has had very little contact with students because he worked overnight shifts and at times when the school was closed.
The 42-year-old Bergeron is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 3.
Charles Pelkie of the state attorney's office says, if convicted, Bergeron could face between six and 30 years in prison with no option for probation.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014