Winnepeg Cop Arrested In Hell's Angel Meth Bust
9th Commandment
pounds of methamphetamine and $3.5 million in Canadian currency turned
on surveillance of an El Dorado Hills man who ran a nutritional
supplement business in Rancho Cordova, officials said Thursday.
"Operation Brain Drain" dismantled one of the largest networks of
ephedrine - a main ingredient of methamphetamine - from Canada to the
United States, as well as trafficking webs based in Yuba, Sutter,
Butte and Colusa counties, said Gordon Taylor, chief of the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration's Sacramento office.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento filed complaints charging 31
people on Thursday, unraveling an operation that imported ephedrine
from Germany to Canada, shipped it via gang members and Hell's Angels
through a port in upstate New York and distributed it from the Central
Valley to Minnesota and Hawaii.
"Methamphetamine is a poison and these people are bringing poison to
our communities," said McGregor Scott, U.S. attorney in Sacramento.
"The ability to bring a team together and go after people and be sure
they are brought to justice is a great thing."
Two investigations - one of the Canada-to-Sacramento ephedrine network
and the other focused on Central Valley methamphetamine distributors -
involved myriad agencies from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to the
Internal Revenue Service, FBI and local inter-agency meth task forces.
Taylor said agents began tracking Richie Mishal 17 months ago,
suspecting he was shipping steroids and Ecstasy. Mishal, 34, ran
Diamond Nutrition, a fitness supplement sales and distribution outlet
in a warehouse district north and east of Sunrise Boulevard and White
Rock Road in Rancho Cordova.
Agents soon traced a connection between Mishal and Rodger Bruneau of
Canada, Taylor said. Bruneau held a license to import ephedrine from
Germany and India to his Canadian firm. Hell's Angels in Canada and
street gang members smuggled the substance through a port in upstate
New York, where Hugh Stevens of Derby, N.Y., arranged to send it to
Mishal, Taylor said.
In the Sacramento area, Mishal's "right-hand man," Faisal "Sal"
Rashid, 30, sold the ephedrine to meth makers in the Sacramento
region, Taylor said.
Federal and local officers stormed Mishal's store Sept. 15, arresting
him; others took Rashid and associates in Honolulu and Minneapolis
into custody.
Store employee Tom Garcia said he was surprised at the arrest. Mishal
was a good boss, a family man and proud of his Jordanian heritage. "He
was always honest with me," Garcia said. "I have no beefs with him."
Officials on Sept. 17 got a warrant to search Rashid's Placer County
storage locker, finding an assault rifle, another rifle and the
makings of a meth lab.
Mishal and Rashid face multiple charges that carry 10-year minimum
sentences.
Rashid had ties to top-level traffickers in the second set of U.S.
attorney cases that charge 24 people with conspiracy to distribute and
distributing methamphetamine, many in Yuba City, Marysville and Live
Oak, Taylor said.
Those traffickers worked in three separate organizations, two run by
cousins Michael Ayala and Adan Ayala Jr., who lived on the same street
in Yuba City, Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said. He said
the traffickers spoke in codes over the phone and arranged drop-off
and pickup exchanges of money and drugs at houses.
Yuba City Police Chief Richard Doscher said officers had an eye on the
suspects for years, identifying them in traffic stops and heeding
residents' suspicions.
Most of the 19 people arrested in Butte, Colusa, Yuba and Sutter
counties face a minimum of 10 years in prison. Officials say more
arrests and drug seizures are likely.
Taylor said the investigation wound up at a good time, since Mishal
was on the verge of buying the Canadian ephedrine-supply company,
likely lowering his costs and boosting his supply.
Instead, Taylor said, officials made a large enough dent in
methamphetamine traffic to cut supply and raise prices.
"Only a handful of cases the DEA has been involved with had an impact
on the flow of meth to cooks - this is one of those cases," he said.
"It will have a significant impact here and all over the country. That
translates to less violence, danger of fire and explosion, less toxic
waste, and fewer children being exposed to chemicals as parents cook
meth."
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/crime/story/10854454p-11772169c.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Gary Hohne
A Lac du Bonnet business was raided last Wednesday morning in
conjunction with a Canada-wide drug bust that netted police officers
large quantities of ephedrine (the main ingredient in crystal
methamphetamine), cash, firearms and assets valued in excess of $1
million dollars.
Members of the Lac du Bonnet and Winnipeg RCMP executed search
warrants on Wednesday, September 15th, at two Trans-Canada Fitness
centres, in Lac du Bonnet and Winnipeg, as part of a sting operation
against an alleged smuggling ring that police believe was linked to a
drug pipeline to the United States.
Business owner, Roger Bruneau, built the local fitness centre in 2001,
after moving his workout business from Pinawa. Bruneau, known for
promoting fitness and strength competitions, was believed to be in
Hanna, Alberta at the time of the raid.
RCMP released few details about the drug bust but confirmed that
several suspects have been accused of buying large amounts of
ephedrine from a licensed distributor from Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Ephedrine is the basic ingredient needed to produce crystal
methamphetamine, which in turn is used to produce the drug Ecstasy.
According to reports, in Canada, ephedrine is considered a legally
available nutritional and weight loss supplement. However, it was
banned in the U.S. after being linked to more than 155 deaths.
RCMP also confirmed that one of the suspects, a 16-year veteran of the
Winnipeg Police Service, was charged with unlawful communication with
members of the alleged smuggling ring.
The Lac du Bonnet raid occurred simultaneously with raids in Winnipeg,
including Trans-Canada Fitness on McPhillips Street and homes in Whyte
Ridge and East St. Paul.
Among assets seized were a pair of Dodge Vipers valued in excess of
$50,000 each.
According to reports, the McPhillips Street fitness centre was also
registered by Bruneau last year along with a neighbouring tanning
salon.
While Staff Sergeant Mel Mitchell of the Lac du Bonnet RCMP detachment
couldn’t release many details, he did report that four detachment
members accompanied members of the Winnipeg Drug Squad during the
seizure last Wednesday in Lac du Bonnet.
Officers executed the search warrant at 7:00 am and remained on the
scene until 5:00 in the afternoon.
RCMP believe the drug ephedrine was transported from Thunder Bay,
directly to Lac du Bonnet before being shipped to other locals,
including Vancouver and Buffalo, New York, for processing.
Police say the investigation was launched in January of this year
after receiving information from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency
during their investigations.
In all, 34 search warrants were executed across Canada, enlisting 250
police officers from Ontario, BC, Alberta and Manitoba.
According to RCMP, as a result of these nation-wide searches, 17
adults (10 of whom are from Manitoba) have been arrested and face
assorted charges including Conspiracy to Produce Methamphetamine
(USA), Conspiracy to Produce Methamphetamine (Canada), Conspiracy to
Export Methamphetamine, and Export Methamphetamine.
Crystal meth is cheap to produce and more potent than cocaine, making
it a popular drug among teenagers.
Costing about $20 for one-tenth of a gram, crystal meth raises the
heart rate and blood pressure and can cause anxiety, paranoia,
depression and violence in some users. Other side effects have
included brain hemorrhages causing permanent paralysis or death.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Ross Douglas McLellan of HAMC owns the 24 hour SuperValu on Davie St
and must have ownership of pallets of ephedrine and a host of
prescription drugs that he resells through HA on the street. To say
nothing of the bogus scripts written by HA doctors such as Grosch in
New Westminster.
Westfair Foods on Marine Drive has a reputation as one of the most
drugged out companies in the Lower Mainland and various HA people get
their start through this company which is part of the SuperValu
empire.
Hudd Distribution in Delta is another gangland with HA shoeshiners
such as rapist Tony Beck (ex-Westfair) and other criminals. Besides
their links to organized crime these companies have another thing in
common,short-changing employees and trying to disqualify them from WCB
when employees are hurt on the job.
Time for the honest cops to make some cases and if they have to bust
their own corrupt officers in the process then so be it. The guilty
cops and politicians and civil servants should have their sentences
automatically doubled.
A couple of Winnepeg HA people recently had their cases thrown out of
court no doubt because of some collusion on the part of the law
enforcement and legal communities there.
Tom Sophonow was wrongfully convicted of homicide because he was
framed by the Winnepeg Police and the Crown has never done anything to
send those responsible for this miscarriage of justice to prison.
John D
> framed by the Winnepeg Police and the Crown has never done anything to
> send those responsible for this miscarriage of justice to prison.
I googled Tom Sophonow. Interesting case.
-JD
-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----