Pubdate: Thu, 8 May 2008
Source: Guardian, The (U of CA, San Diego, CA Edu)
Copyright: 2008 UCSD Guardian.
Contact:  http://www.ucsdguardian.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2776
Author: Reza Farazmand

SDSU DRUG RING EXPOSED; 75 STUDENTS ARRESTED

Nearly 100 people suspected of involvement in a recently exposed drug 
ring at San Diego State University were arrested this week, ending a 
months-long undercover sting operation that revealed a network of 
illicit substance distribution and purchase within and around the campus.

Officials said a total of 96 people have been arrested in connection 
with the case, 75 of whom are students. Investigators have reported 
confiscating up to $100,000 worth of cocaine, marijuana, Ecstasy and 
illicit prescription drugs. A number of weapons - including a shotgun 
and three semiautomatic pistols - and $60,000 in cash were also 
seized as evidence, authorities said.

"This operation shows how accessible and pervasive illegal drugs 
continue to be on our college campuses, and how common it is for 
students to be selling to other students," San Diego County District 
Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis said in a statement.

Of those arrested, about 20 were suspected of involvement in drug 
sales, officials said. The rest were individuals suspected of having 
purchased drugs from members within the drug operation.

Authorities also confirmed that one suspect, Omar Castaneda, 36, is a 
documented gang member who may have connections to Mexican drug 
cartels. Officials said Castaneda may have received his supply of 
cocaine from Mexico and members of the cartel.

Campus police, along with the Federal Drug Enforcement 
Administration, began the investigation, dubbed "Operation Sudden 
Fall," last year in response to a student's death by cocaine overdose 
on campus in May 2007. The death of a second student on campus, also 
from a cocaine overdose, in February 2008 prompted authorities to 
step up their efforts.

"This investigation spotlights two tragedies," DEA Special Agent in 
Charge Ralph W. Partridge said in a statement. "The tragic drug 
overdose deaths of two college students and secondly, the shattered 
futures of those students who choose to continue to engage in the 
illicit sale and usage of a myriad of controlled substances."

The investigation targeted seven campus fraternities and led to the 
arrest of several members of the Theta Chi and Phi Kappa Psi 
fraternities. Officials said that, in some fraternities, nearly all 
of the members were aware of the drug sales conducted by members from 
within their own fraternity houses.

Throughout the investigation, authorities conducted over 130 separate 
undercover purchases and seizures. According to officials, undercover 
agents regularly purchased cocaine from fraternity members over the 
course of the investigation. An official report from the San Diego 
District Attorney's office stated 19 arrest warrants were issued for 
students who had sold drugs to undercover DEA agents.

Authorities said several of the arrested individuals sent out mass 
text messages advertising drug sales over the last few months. In one 
case, Kenneth Ciaccio, 19, a member of the Theta Chi fraternity, sent 
a mass text message to a group he referred to as his "faithful 
customers," informing them he and his associates would be unable to 
sell cocaine for a weekend while in Las Vegas. He also wrote that 
they would be having a "sale" on cocaine and listed the reduced 
prices in the message.

The investigation saw a total of nine search warrants issued for 
houses and apartments on and around the campus, including the Theta 
Chi fraternity house.

Students arrested in the raid have been suspended and those residing 
in university-managed housing have been evicted, campus officials 
said. None of those arrested will be allowed to attend classes or 
take final exams until all necessary legal proceedings have been completed.

In addition, campus officials announced Tuesday that six fraternities 
- - Phi Kappa Psi, Theta Chi, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Kappa Theta, Sigma 
Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Alpha Mu - have been suspended until further 
investigation into their involvement with the drug ring is completed.

SDSU President Stephen L. Weber, who requested DEA assistance in the 
case upon learning of the scale of the drug ring early in the 
investigation, commended the efforts of investigators in a statement 
Tuesday and said that the bust reveals a larger national narcotics problem.

"Certainly today's arrests underscore the scope of the challenges 
universities face as we fight this major societal problem," Weber 
said. "We are determined to remove people from our community who have 
placed our students at risk, and to see that they are turned over to 
the criminal justice system. Today's arrests are a big step forward 
toward a safer environment for our students, faculty, staff and neighbors."

UCSD Chief of Police Orville King said that while no evidence that a 
drug operation of the magnitude witnessed at SDSU might exist at 
UCSD, any indication of such activity could produce a similar 
response that involves federal enforcement agencies.

"It would be naive to think that drug violations are not occurring on 
our campus, but we haven't witnessed anything that would indicate an 
operation of the scale at SDSU," King said. "In order to conduct an 
[investigation] like that, you have to have information or 
intelligence that indicates that something like that is occurring. If 
we had information that led us to believe that activity like that was 
occurring on campus, then we would consider that kind of action and 
possibly with the involvement of an outside agency." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake