Pubdate: Thu, 28 Feb 2002
Source: Shreveport Times (LA)
Copyright: 2000 The Shreveport Times
Contact:  http://www.shreveporttimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1019
Author: Don Walker
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

ARRESTS THWART DELIVERY OF ECSTASY TO AREA

Nine suspects face indictments in U.S. District Court Don Walker / The 
Times Posted on February 28, 2002 A six-month investigation culminated in 
the arrest of nine members of an alleged international smuggling ring and 
thwarted delivery of an estimated $3.5 million of the drug ecstasy - some 
of it bound for Northwest Louisiana.

All of the suspects named in a federal indictment handed up in U.S. 
District Court in Shreveport were in custody Wednesday. Two suspects are 
being held in Amsterdam awaiting extradition to Louisiana, U.S. Attorney 
Donald Washington said.

Ecstasy is a stimulant and a mild hallucinogenic known as a "club drug," 
most commonly sold at nightclubs and rave parties, Washington said.

The arrests followed a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency-led task force 
investigation that began in September. The task force also included 
officers of Louisiana state police, the Caddo, Bossier and Natchitoches 
sheriff's offices and the Shreveport, Bossier City and Natchitoches police 
departments.

The investigation focused on the smuggling of ecstasy from Europe to 
Louisiana and other southeastern states.

The investigation first was made public in November, when four suspects 
were indicted in connection with the shipment of 5,000 tablets of ecstasy 
from Europe to Natchitoches. The ongoing probe subsequently led to nine 
additional arrests on charges of conspiracy and possession with intent to 
distribute.

Those charged are Lowray Matthew Chachere, 24, of Many, Michael Wayne Cobb, 
20, of Natchitoches, Colby Joseph Hebert, 21, of Abbeville, Trent Parker 
Harrell, 22, and Paul Powell, 20, both of Baton Rouge, Christopher Neal 
Carmon, 20, of Gulf Breeze, Fla., and Dutch nationals Widad Sitti, 23, 
Hakimi Hamimi, 26, and Barka Ettarfass, 31.

If convicted, each faces 20 years in jail, $1 million in fines or both.

One of the suspects was arrested in Shreveport in November, when she 
traveled from Amsterdam to the United States to collect payment for a 
shipment of ecstasy and to arrange future shipments, Washington said. It 
was at that time that agents, who had wired a hotel room in Bossier City, 
obtained audio of Sitti and Chachere allegedly discussing a future shipment 
of 100,000 pills at $8 per tablet for the first 10,000 and $6.50 per tablet 
for the remainder.

Ecstasy is sold for $30 to $35 per tablet at nightclubs and raves, said 
Bill Grant, DEA supervisor in Shreveport.

"It's very prevalent in the Shreveport-Bossier City area, especially with 
young adults and teen-agers," said substance abuse counselor Mary Walden of 
The Center for Families on Olive Street.

"A lot of these young adults call it 'the hugging drug.' They also call it 
'lover's speed,'" she said. "They will take it and go to a rave party, and 
they say it enhances their dancing and their visual conception of lights 
and music."

Walden said the drug is highly addictive and dangerous and causes mood, 
emotional, learning and memory problems as well as increased heart rate, 
increased blood pressure and irregular heartbeat. She has counseled young 
adults who have spent as much as $200 on ecstasy in a single weekend and 
suffered seizures and other health problems.

"I would be very concerned as a parent. Parents need to be proactive with 
their children - know where they are, who they're with, what they're doing. 
Pay attention to how they're reacting, are they having weight loss, maybe 
sleeping too much, or are they irritable, restless or having memory loss."

Grant said it has not been determined how much of the ecstasy was 
distributed in Shreveport, Bossier City and Natchitoches.

"The goal was to completely cut off the pipeline of ecstasy," he said. 
"We've been able to eliminate this pipeline."

But there likely are other pipelines out there, Washington said.

"We have made a big impact. But I seriously doubt we've come close to 
totally cutting off the pipeline. We still have a lot of work to do."
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager