Pubdate: Sun, 17 Nov 2002 Source: Orange County Register, The (CA) Copyright: 2002 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www2.ocregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321 Author: Aldrin Brown 2 OC MEN TARGETED IN DRUG PROBE Agents Are Investigating Links Between Narcotics And Terrorist Groups. Federal agents investigating links between drug money and international terrorists have targeted two Orange County men who allegedly participated in a nationwide narcotics-smuggling ring that sent profits to the Middle East. The local suspects include Jubran Zalan Dighlawi of Orange, accused of importing millions of ephedrine-based cold and allergy pills from Canada for sale to drug cookers in Southern California. The over-the-counter medicine can be used to make methamphetamine. His right-hand man, according to federal authorities, was Suhail Mata Abdallah of Lake Forest. Abdallah remains at large. Dighlawi is in federal custody. The Orange County men, both 32-year-old Palestinians, are among more than 100 people indicted since January in connection with Operation Mountain Express, a yearlong government effort to shut down illegal suppliers of pseudoephedrine, a common antihistamine. "We have multi-source information indicating that some of the proceeds derived from the sale of the pseudoephedrine has gone back to the Middle East to support terrorist organizations," said Will Glasby, spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration's headquarters in Washington, D.C. But none of the defendants in Operation Mountain Express has been charged with terrorism-related charges, and some of their attorneys say their clients are being unfairly linked to terrorism. Authorities in the United States have been scrutinizing profits from a variety of drug deals, scams and charities since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in response to President George W. Bush's mandate to cut off funding to terror groups. In an unrelated sting, Justice Department officials announced this month the arrests of three men in Hong Kong who allegedly offered to trade heroin and hashish in exchange for Stinger anti-aircraft missiles they planned to deliver to the al-Qaida terror network. Federal agents say they are trying to determine which of the alleged drug-ring members were involved in sending the money to the Middle East, Glasby said. DEA officials have refused to disclose the amount of money sent, which organizations might have benefited from the drug profits or which countries were involved. Prosecutors have presented no evidence showing that the Orange County men were personally involved in the transfer of money to terrorists. Dighlawi appeared Friday in federal court in San Diego and is scheduled to appear again next month. Attorney Michael Pancer, representing Dighlawi, declined to discuss details of the case but denied that his client has any connection to terrorism. "There have been no (terrorism connections) alleged by the government in our case," he said. "There are none that exist. It's just a straight-up drug case." Pseudoephedrine is the most important ingredient in the making of methamphetamine. In 1992, Congress passed the Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act, which imposed strict regulations on the sale of large quantities of pseudoephedrine. Since then, Canada has become the leading supplier of pseudoephedrine to illegal drug makers in the United States, DEA officials said. Dighlawi holds Nicaraguan travel documents under an alias and Abdallah holds a Jordanian passport. The men were indicted in January, culminating an investigation by state and federal law enforcement agencies that secretly listened to telephone calls and relied upon confidential informants. Besides San Diego, pseudoephedrine smuggling ring cases are being heard in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Riverside and Fresno. Few details have been made public about the roles the Orange County defendants allegedly played in the smuggling ring. In a 14-count indictment, federal prosecutors said that between May 29, 2001, and Jan. 4, Dighlawi arranged for the delivery of 286 pounds of Canadian pseudoephedrine, valued at more than $325,000 on the black market. "We characterize them as significant pseudoephedrine suppliers to Mexican national drug dealers in San Diego," said Special Agent Donald Thornhill of the Carlsbad DEA office, which investigated the case involving the Orange County men. Abdallah is believed to have assisted in the delivery of the pseudoephedrine. Eleven other defendants - 10 of them Palestinians - also are named in the San Diego case. Attorneys for several of the men have complained in court filings that the government's failure to produce more information about specific allegations is hampering their ability to defend their clients. Some also have expressed concern that the ambiguous allegations of terrorist ties could make it difficult for their clients to receive fair trials. "Those allegations are easily made because of the climate and the times we're in," said Matt Lees, whose client Towfic Yoseph Soury is among the Palestinian defendants charged in the San Diego case. "My client has no connection to terrorism. I would hate to have that shrouding my client during trial." In a related case being tried in Los Angeles, other alleged participants of the ring often met in restaurants, parking lots and apartments throughout Orange County to set up deals for the purchase and sale of pseudoephedrine, court records showed. Dighlawi and Abdallah disappeared from Orange County in the days after the indictments were handed down. Dighlawi was arrested in Jordan in July on unrelated charges and was extradited to Turkey, where he was picked up by DEA agents and returned to Southern California. Abdallah's whereabouts are unknown. A rented home on Jagger Street in Lake Forest where he lived is now occupied by a new tenant. A message left for the landlord was not returned. A woman who answered the door at the $500,000 Meridian Street home in Orange where Dighlawi resided identified herself only as his sister but declined to comment, citing the pending criminal charges. Property records show the home was purchased in Sept. 2001 by a Jaime Y. Misleh. According to court documents, Dighlawi's Nicaraguan passport was issued under the name Yubran Yussef Salam Mesle. DEA Seeks Help From Public To Find Fugitive The Drug Enforcement Administration is asking for help in finding fugitive suspect Suhail Mata Abdallah. Anyone with information is asked to call (858) 616-4100. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth