Pubdate: Fri, 20 Sep 2002
Source: Buffalo News (NY)
Copyright: 2002 The Buffalo News
Contact:  http://www.buffalonews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/61
Author: Janice L. Habuda

AGENTS BUY HEROIN BUT FIND OUT IT'S TNT

Federal agents, working on a tip from an informant, were all set to buy 3 
kilos of heroin Thursday at a Town of Evans motel. But when they tested 
samples to make sure they were getting the real thing, they got a big surprise.

Field tests on two samples from different parts of the shipment didn't test 
positive for heroin - or anything else, said Special Agent Mark Peterson of 
the federal Drug Enforcement Administration's office in Buffalo.

The deal wasn't going to go through unless what the man was selling was a 
controlled substance, so the Erie County Central Police Services laboratory 
agreed to do a more sophisticated analysis of the second sample. The result 
wasn't what anyone expected.

"They said, "Come and get this stuff out of here - it's TNT,' " Peterson 
said Thursday night.

"I have never had anybody purport a high explosive to us as a controlled 
substance," he said.

The man, who identified himself as Lionel Smithum, 32, of the Republic of 
Trinidad, had brought almost 7 pounds of TNT with him to the motel on Route 
5. He had taken a bus up from New York City on Wednesday.

After the lab tests came back late Thursday morning, the informant who had 
put authorities onto Smithum went back to the motel and helped get him out 
- - and away from the package. Motel management was notified, and Evans 
police officers helped evacuate the other rooms.

Then the Erie County Sheriff's Department Weapons and Ordnance Unit removed 
the TNT. Because of its potential volatility, it was blown up in quantities 
the size of a hockey puck.

"If something had happened, it could have blown that motel into a different 
ZIP code," Peterson said.

If Smithum knew what he was trying to pass off as heroin, he's not telling. 
"He dummied right up," Peterson said.

Authorities have no idea where he got it. In New York, you have to be 
licensed to buy TNT, which is used in demolition work.

"In this trade, deceit is not uncommon," Peterson said. Some people have 
tried to pass off foot powder or pulverized drywall as heroin.

"I have never, ever, ever seen anything like this in my life," Peterson added.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Immigration 
and Naturalization Service were drawn into the case.

Smithum was charged with attempted possession of a controlled substance, 
federal explosives violations and immigration charges. He previously had 
been deported to Trinidad, Peterson said. Smithum was in federal detention 
at the county holding center late Thursday.

The DEA agent was quick to note that the investigation and its unexpected 
outcome have no connection with the suspected terrorist cell in Lackawanna 
that's been making international headlines.

It was a "target of opportunity" case, Peterson said, initiated by an 
informant's tip that he knew someone who claimed he could supply heroin.

The case, Peterson said, is the "craziest thing I have seen in 29 years of 
law enforcement."
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