Snap 01-30-07

Methamphetamine Awareness and Prevention Project of South Dakota

METH Awareness And Prevention Project of South Dakota

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January 30

In Sioux Falls, South Dakota (From the Sioux Falls Argus Leader) A 27-year-old California man who was caught smuggling Meth and cocaine received a sentence of more than 7 years in prison. A federal judge ordered the defendant to serve 87 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. The case began when the suspect was stopped by a state trooper on the Interstate in November 2005. A drug dog indicated that a controlled substance was in the car, and when authorities searched, they discovered nine pounds of Meth and nine pounds of cocaine hidden in the vehicle.

In North Dakota - A 22-year-old man pleaded guilty to a federal drug charge in what police label one of the largest Meth busts in state history. He also said he’d work with investigators in exchange for a reduced sentence on the federal charge of possessing more than 4½ pounds of Meth with plans to sell it. The defendant was arrested (along with a 21-year-old man) after a report of a strong gas smell at a hotel in October 2006.

In Scotland & Arizona – Authorities from America and the United Kingdom worked together to crush a cyber-pipeline supplying Meth manufacturing chemicals through an Internet business. Two Scots, a 43-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman, are facing extradition to Phoenix for shipping red phosphorous and iodine crystals to America. They are accused of supplying at least 100 Meth labs across the country, plus potential labs in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency says the two sent more than 800 pounds of chemicals to America. Federal authorities say the two knew exactly what they were doing and whom they were supplying. Their company had been raided twice, forcing a name change and a move from England to Scotland. In e-mail messages recovered by investigators, clients routinely asked for chemicals to be misidentified and shipped discretely. One message noted, "I am interested in Red Phosphorous 100 grams Very Pure but don't want the DEA knocking on my door." Another warned, "If my government clamps down on your exporting, you're business is doomed... I'd be very careful with selling red phosphorous to America. It's VERY illegal to do without a license." The couple faces 80 counts of conspiracy and shipping chemicals illegally to the United States. The investigation was named Operation Red Dragon after the primary chemical they shipped - red phosphorous. If convicted in U.S. court of unlawfully importing regulated chemicals, they face up to 20 years in prison.

In California - Authorities say the flavoring and coloring of Meth is a new and dangerous strategy that drug dealers are using to draw in younger teenagers. In addition to ‘strawberry quick’, Meth that is tinted red and flavored to resemble candy, there are reports of other flavored Meth surfacing. At a free clinic, some teenage patients recently began to use Meth flavored with chocolate. Police who confiscated some off-colored Meth asked the suspects why it was a different color – and the suspects said they're cooking it now with Coca-Cola and other soda flavors of soda. A doctor reported treating a young patient who had been told he was getting a solid form of the energy drink Red Bull – but in reality, he unwittingly took a dose of Meth.

In Ohio – Two men, 32- and 28-years-old, face felony charges for allegedly transporting Meth manufacturing ingredients. Police arrested them after a traffic violation. When officers searched the vehicle, they discovered Meth manufacturing items. That led to a search of a van in a parking lot – which also held a Meth lab. One of the men faces a felony drug possession charge for having a plastic bag containing white powder, suspected Meth.

In Florida – A 37-year-old man was arrested right after he dropped his son off at school. Police stopped him for driving with a suspended license and searched his vehicle. They found a small, blue jewelry box underneath the seat with Meth rocks and a small amount of marijuana. They also discovered the volatile mix of chemicals in the final stage of cooking Meth - enough to make more than 400 grams of Meth. The man faces charges of driving without a license, possession of Meth and marijuana, Meth manufacturing and child endangerment.

In Georgia - Six people have been arrested on charges ranging from conspiracy to manufacture Meth to child endangerment. The case began with an anonymous tip to child protection services. Officers visited the home and found evidence of possible drug activity – enough to get a search warrant. When police executed the warrant, they found an active Meth lab in a trailer behind the doublewide mobile home. Four children, ages ranging from an infant to a 6 year old, were living in the home right next to where the Meth was being cooked. As officers interviewed the adults, they found out that for seven years prior to the bust Meth had been produced in the mobile home that the children were living in. The children were checked out at a hospital before being turned over to child protection services.

In Arizona – An 18-year-old man was arrested when an officer made the largest single Meth seizure on a highway in state history. A canine unit officer spotted a truck on the interstate and pulled the driver over for following another vehicle too close. A trained narcotics dog sniffed out Meth, which led to a search. The officer discovered a sophisticated compartment hidden in the bed of the truck. Inside: 68-pounds of Meth. The suspect, a U.S. citizen, drove the stash from Mexico through a port of entry without rousing suspicion in the customs agents. He had a valid Arizona driver's license and is the registered owner of the truck. He now faces federal drug charges. The Counter Narcotics Alliance and Drug Enforcement Agency are investigating this as part of a larger Meth ring.

In North Carolina - A 34-year-old man will spend more than six years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted Meth manufacturing, possession of immediate precursor chemicals for making Meth, and failure to appear in court on a felony charge. The charges stem from his arrest in 2005, when a state highway trooper found Meth lab materials in his car. He has been sentenced to 80 to 105-months in prison.