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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
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Sting unravels meth network
Surveillance of El Dorado man called key to case
By Christina Jewett
An international methamphetamine sting that yielded 90 arrests, 93 pounds of methamphetamine and $3.5 million in Canadian currency turned on surveillance of an El Dorado Hills man who ran a nutritional supplement business in Rancho Cordova, officials said Thursday.
"Operation Brain Drain" dismantled one of the largest networks of ephedrine - a main ingredient of methamphetamine - from Canada to the United States, as well as trafficking webs based in Yuba, Sutter, Butte and Colusa counties, said Gordon Taylor, chief of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Sacramento office.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento filed complaints charging 31 people on Thursday, unraveling an operation that imported ephedrine from Germany to Canada, shipped it via gang members and Hell's Angels through a port in upstate New York and distributed it from the Central Valley to Minnesota and Hawaii.
"Methamphetamine is a poison and these people are bringing poison to our communities," said McGregor Scott, U.S. attorney in Sacramento. "The ability to bring a team together and go after people and be sure they are brought to justice is a great thing."
Two investigations - one of the Canada-to-Sacramento ephedrine network and the other focused on Central Valley methamphetamine distributors - involved myriad agencies from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to the Internal Revenue Service, FBI and local inter-agency meth task forces.
Taylor said agents began tracking Richie Mishal 17 months ago, suspecting he was shipping steroids and Ecstasy. Mishal, 34, ran Diamond Nutrition, a fitness supplement sales and distribution outlet in a warehouse district north and east of Sunrise Boulevard and White Rock Road in Rancho Cordova.
Agents soon traced a connection between Mishal and Rodger Bruneau of Canada, Taylor said. Bruneau held a license to import ephedrine from Germany and India to his Canadian firm. Hell's Angels in Canada and street gang members smuggled the substance through a port in upstate New York, where Hugh Stevens of Derby, N.Y., arranged to send it to Mishal, Taylor said.
In the Sacramento area, Mishal's "right-hand man," Faisal "Sal" Rashid, 30, sold the ephedrine to meth makers in the Sacramento region, Taylor said.
Federal and local officers stormed Mishal's store Sept. 15, arresting him; others took Rashid and associates in Honolulu and Minneapolis into custody.
Store employee Tom Garcia said he was surprised at the arrest. Mishal was a good boss, a family man and proud of his Jordanian heritage. "He was always honest with me," Garcia said. "I have no beefs with him."
Officials on Sept. 17 got a warrant to search Rashid's Placer County storage locker, finding an assault rifle, another rifle and the makings of a meth lab. Mishal and Rashid face multiple charges that carry 10-year minimum sentences. Rashid had ties to top-level traffickers in the second set of U.S. attorney cases that charge 24 people with conspiracy to distribute and distributing methamphetamine, many in Yuba City, Marysville and Live Oak, Taylor said. Those traffickers worked in three separate organizations, two run by cousins Michael Ayala and Adan Ayala Jr., who lived on the same street in Yuba City, Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said. He said the traffickers spoke in codes over the phone and arranged drop-off and pickup exchanges of money and drugs at houses. Yuba City Police Chief Richard Doscher said officers had an eye on the suspects for years, identifying them in traffic stops and heeding residents' suspicions. Most of the 19 people arrested in Butte, Colusa, Yuba and Sutter counties face a minimum of 10 years in prison. Officials say more arrests and drug seizures are likely. Taylor said the investigation wound up at a good time, since Mishal was on the verge of buying the Canadian ephedrine-supply company, likely lowering his costs and boosting his supply. Instead, Taylor said, officials made a large enough dent in methamphetamine traffic to cut supply and raise prices. "Only a handful of cases the DEA has been involved with had an impact on the flow of meth to cooks - this is one of those cases," he said. "It will have a significant impact here and all over the country. That translates to less violence, danger of fire and explosion, less toxic waste, and fewer children being exposed to chemicals as parents cook meth." News from DEA, News Releases, 07/22/04 DEA
Eliminates Major Source of US Meth DEA Deputy Administrator Michele Leonhart today announced the successful culmination of Operation Brain Drain, a 17-month joint OCDETF investigation which identified and dismantled the most significant source of ephedrine from Canada to the United States. Operation Brain Drain targeted Canadian bulk ephedrine distributors and their U.S. associates, as well as U.S.-based Mexican methamphetamine manufacturers and distributors. DEA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police led a joint effort in this investigation. “This should send a clear message to those who manufacture and traffic illegal drugs that you could be next. Thanks to the cooperative success of this investigation between the two countries, we have identified the most significant sources of ephedrine from Canada to the United States,” Leonhart said. “Breaking up these organizations will dramatically limit the availability of ephedrine in the United States and will have a significant effect on the large scale production of methamphetamine in the United States.” Operation Brain Drain yielded 90 arrests, including five major traffickers, 92.6 pounds of methamphetamine, 2735 pounds of ephedrine powder, and nearly 1.7 million ephedrine pills, two kilograms of cocaine, 62 pounds of precursor chemicals, 5 gallons of meth solution, 27 weapons, 11 vehicles, two large clandestine meth labs, and $3.5 million in Canadian currency. Ephedrine is one of the major ingredients used to manufacture methamphetamine. FOCUS AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS OF OPERATION BRAIN DRAIN This operation targeted the Armando Solis methamphetamine manufacturing and trafficking organization, which is based in central California, has Mexican ties, and operated throughout the western and central United States. In addition, the investigation focused on the Richie Mishal poly drug organization, which has a history of distributing large quantities of steroids, MDMA, and marijuana throughout the United States. Mishal was involved in the trafficking of ephedrine with Canadian Rodger Bruneau, who was also a major target of the DEA/RCMP investigation. Solis was arrested, along with others involved in methamphetamine trafficking, by DEA Sacramento, and Bruneau was arrested by the RCMP. The case also revealed that Mishal sold ephedrine to Faisal Rashid, who then sold it to Mexican drug trafficking organizations. Bruneau also shipped large amounts of ephedrine to Mishal via Hugh Stevens in Buffalo, New York. Bruneau’s multiple purchases of large amounts of ephedrine from Pumpuii, a Canadian company, were for methamphetamine manufacturing in the United States and Canada. The ephedrine was then distributed via Bruneau’s various associates to U.S. methamphetamine manufacturers, Canadian-based Asian gangs, and the Canadian Hell’s Angels. The combined investigations further revealed the connection between Solis, Bruneau, Mishal, Rashid, and Stevens. Stevens was arrested by DEA Buffalo, along with other traffickers. Mishal and members of his criminal organization were involved in the importation and distribution of hundred pound quantities of ephedrine from Canada via Buffalo to Sacramento for distribution to large scale methamphetamine manufacturing organizations based in northern California. Pam Molner, sister of Rodger Bruneau, was also arrested by DEA Miami on manufacturing and conspiracy charges, and charged in Sacramento. In all, the Sacramento portion of Operation Brain Drain resulted in the arrests of Mishal, Rashid, and Molner, among others. These arrests have disrupted the distribution of ephedrine from Canada, and stopped the purchase of Pumpuii by Mishal, which would have resulted in his access to even more ephedrine for trafficking. SPECIAL THANKS AND RECOGNITION The success of Operation Brain Drain could not have taken place without the cooperation and coordination of the following: DEA Special Operations Division, Southwest Border Methamphetamine Section DEA Sacramento, Buffalo, Miami, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Honolulu, Vancouver RCMP Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Edmonton FBI Sacramento United States Attorney’s Office IRS Sacramento Immigration and Customs Enforcement Buffalo, Sacramento
Part-Owner Of Popular Local Restaurant Arrested On Federal Drug Charges
Posted by: Aaron Saykin The part-owner of Jacobi's in Lackawanna is part of a major international drug investigation. Wednesday morning, authorities arrested 47-year-old Sandra Jacobi-Stevens and her husband, Hugh Stevens at Jacobi's. Prosecutors say the two, along with four others from the area, were running a major drug transportation operation. Prosecutors call it one the biggest busts of its kind in the region. According to the charges, Jacobi and her husband controlled an operation that transported a chemical called ephedrine from Canada to the Buffalo area. It was then sent to California, where it was used to make methamphetamine or "speed." Prosecutors say they were helped by operatives in Canada. Arrests were also made there and in California, authorities say. Also, they characterized Hugh Stevens as the ring leader of the group. Jacobs-Stevens and her husand, along with three others, were arraigned in Federal Court in Buffalo Wednesday afternoon. We spoke to her as she was being escorted away by authorities. "Did you do it?" she was asked. "No. Not Guilty. I'm not guilty," she replied. Authorities say she neither sold nor "cooked" any drugs inside her Lackawana restuarant. They say it was merely a meeting place for those in the operation. The couple is awaiting a bond hearing early next week. Meantime, they'll stay in the custody of Federal Marshals. If convicted, the mandatory minimum for the crimes under federal sentencing guidelines is 10 years to life in prison, along with a fine of $14 million. Buffalo Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Dismantles Ephedrine Trafficking Organization Operating in United States and Canada
September 15, 2004 United States Attorney Michael A. Battle, Western District of New York and Anthony P. Placido, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA's New York Field Division announced today the unsealing of an 8-count OCDETF Indictment in Operation Lame Horse, charging HUGH STEVENS a/k/a "Huey," age 58, SANDRA JACOBI a/k/a "Sandi," age 47, both of Derby, New York, KENNETH ARTHUR MEGO, age 32, of Orchard Park, New York, LYNN M. HESS, age 45, of Blasdell, New York, LOUIS RUSSO, age 36, and CHRISTOPHER RUSSO, age 32, both of Batavia, New York, with conspiracy to possess and distribute a listed chemical, to wit, ephedrine and conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(c)(2), 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(B), and 846, carrying a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years, and up to life, imprisonment and a fine of $4,000,000.00, or both. HUGH STEVENS is also charged with managing a continuing criminal enterprise in violation of Title 21, United States Code, 848(a), which carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years, up to life, imprisonment and a fine of $2,000,000, or both. It should be noted that the fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime . . . is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. (Disciplinary Rule 7-107(B)(6)). Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Thomas S. Duszkiewicz stated that the Indictment charges the defendants with their involvement in the importation and distribution of a List I chemical, ephedrine, which is used as a precursor in the manufacturing of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance. AUSA Duszkiewicz also stated that the more than year long investigation will also result in other arrests in the United States and throughout Canada and has resulted in the seizure on July 10, 2004 at the Lewiston Bridge of in excess of 200 kilograms of ephedrine. The Indictment also seeks forfeiture of criminally derived assets of up to $14,711,250 upon conviction of the named defendants. The Indictment was the culmination of an OCDETF investigation dubbed “Operation Lame Horse” conducted on the part of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), under the direction of Mark T. Peterson, Resident Agent in Charge, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, under the direction of Peter J. Smith, Special Agent in Charge, United States Postal Service, under the direction of Thomas N. Shipley, Assistant Inspector in Charge, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Assistance was also provided by the Lackawanna Police Department and other offices of the DEA. The evidence was presented to the Grand Jury by Assistant United States Attorney Duszkiewicz who will handle the trial of the case before Honorable William M. Skretny, United States District Judge. The defendants will be arraigned before Honorable H. Kenneth Schroeder, United States Magistrate Judge today at 3:00 p.m. |
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