Pubdate: Thu, 06 Jan 2000
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2000 The Denver Post
Contact:  1560 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202
Fax: (303) 820.1502
Website: http://www.denverpost.com/
Forum: http://www.denverpost.com/voice/voice.htm
Author: Marilyn Robinson, Denver Post Staff Writer

Jan. 6 - A Littleton police officer faces a felony drug count after
authorities intercepted a package containing the date-rape drug Rohypnol
mailed from Thailand to his home.

Jeffrey Daniel Osman, 35, was arrested Tuesday after the package was
delivered to his condominium by a postal inspector posing as a mail
carrier. The drugs were allegedly hidden in the lid of a jigsaw puzzle
inside the parcel.

Investigators entered the residence with a search warrant and found
marijuana and depressants, which he didn't have prescriptions for,
authorities said.

Osman told investigators he had ordered the drugs over the Internet to
treat his insomnia.

"The Rohypnol was the only drug in the package," said Lt. Burdell Burch,
commander of the West Metro Drug Task Force. "The other drugs were hidden
elsewhere in the condo." Rohypnol is illegal in the United States but not
in some countries. The other two depressants recovered from his home are
available through prescription.

The task force had been alerted by the U.S. Customs Service last week after
the package from Thailand was intercepted at the Oakland, Calif., mail
facility. Arrangements then were made for delivery by a postal inspector,
Burch said.

The drug delivered Tuesday was in "blister packs" that had been placed in
the lid hidden behind a taped piece of cardboard, investigators said.

Osman was booked on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and
released. He then was suspended with pay by Littleton Police Chief Gary
Maas pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.

"That's city policy on these issues," Maas said.

Osman couldn't be reached for comment.

He has been with the Littleton Police Department since September 1997.
Previously, he served with police departments in Central City and Steamboat
Springs.

Rohypnol, a drug similar to Valium but much more powerful, is used to
combat sleeping disorders in other countries but has gained notoriety
across the United States as a "predator drug." Abusers slip crushed tablets
of the sedative into unsuspecting people's drinks and later sexually
assault them.

In those cases, victims report experiencing severe memory loss, experts said.

The drug's effect, felt within 15 to 20 minutes and lasting eight hours or
more, is similar to that of alcohol in that it helps loosen inhibitions
before sedation takes hold.

When combined with alcohol or other drugs, experts say, it can cause
respiratory depression and even death.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D