Snap 07-27-07

Methamphetamine Awareness and Prevention Project of South Dakota

METH Awareness And Prevention Project of South Dakota

Home	About MAPP-SD	What is Meth?	Meth's Effects	Clan Labs	Children	Resources
Business & Agencies	Communities & Groups	Indian Country	Parents	Teens	Schools	Dental

July 27, 2007

In South Dakota – The state highway patrol seized 10-pounds of crystal Meth during a traffic stop on Interstate 90 near Chamberlain. Troopers pulled over a passenger van for a moving violation. When a K9 unit searched the van, the dog alerted officers to narcotics. Officers discovered ten one-pound bags of Meth. Authorities believe the five people in the van were transporting the Meth from the west coast to Minneapolis. The five suspects were arrested on felony drug charges.

In South Dakota - The South Dakota Supreme Court upheld the convictions of a man sent to prison for 30 years after evidence of Meth labs were found in two homes where he'd lived. The 39-year-old defendant had argued that officers did not have enough evidence to obtain search warrants for those homes. Authorities raided the two places in January 2006 and found Meth manufacturing ingredients in the house he lived at the time of his arrest and in a house he'd lived in earlier. The state justices said officers had plenty of advance information that allowed them to get the proper search warrants and there was enough evidence presented at the trial to prove he was involved in making Meth.

In Indiana - Two people involved in a Mexican Meth trafficking organization were sentenced in federal court and another was sentenced for money laundering for the ring. A 36-year-old man received a 14-year sentence in federal prison and five-years supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute Meth and distribution of Meth. He will be deported to Mexico after he completes his prison sentence; during the time of supervised release, he will not be allowed to re-enter the United States. He was a supplier for a Meth trafficking organization. A 26-year-old man who also worked in the same organization pled guilty to the same charges and was sentenced to 15-years, eight months in federal prison. He will also be deported after serving the prison time, with the same restrictions for his supervised release. A third man, 23-years-old, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty plea to conspiracy to launder money for the leader of the drug ring. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, during that time he will be subject to random searches of his person, residence and vehicle. The man who operated the Meth distribution ring will be sentenced in August. Authorities say he ran a system of delivering about 80- to 100-pounds of Meth every month for a year. After the drug profit money was laundered, he used the proceeds to purchase real estate in Mexico, including an avocado farm and a personal residence.

In North Carolina - A 64-year-old man will spend at least 37-years in prison after his conviction on Meth charges. A jury found him guilty of two counts of Meth trafficking and Meth manufacturing and possession. When officers executed a search warrant on his home, they found a Meth lab and more than 2,800-grams of finished Meth in four jars.