Drug Testing News, Drug Test News, Pass a Urine Drug Test,
Pass a drug test. Call 1-888-420-6556. We sell all Total Body and Same Day Body Cleansers and offer
reliable overnight shipping @ PassYourDrugTest.com
To
purchase products or request more information, call us at:
This is a Toll Free Call.
Drug Testing News
55 Charged in Drug
Paraphernalia Sales
Mon Feb 24,11:55 AM ET
A federal grand jury in western Pennsylvania handed up
indictments against 27 people as part of "Operation Pipe
Dreams," an investigation stretching from Pittsburgh to
Phoenix to southern California, Attorney General John Ashcroft
(news - web sites) said.
Another nine people were charged in four grand jury
indictments returned in Des Moines, Iowa, under "Operation
Headhunter," which involved paraphernalia marketed nationwide
by distributors in Michigan, California and Texas.
In all, 55 people were named in nearly three dozen indictments
returned throughout the country.
Federal law makes it a crime to sell products mainly intended
for the use of illegal drugs, including such things as bongs,
marijuana pipes, "roach" clips, miniature spoons and scales.
Those charged with selling and conspiring to sell such items
face up to three years on prison and maximum fines of
$250,000.
A search warrant in the Iowa case turned up more than $2
million in illegal paraphernalia, authorities said.
Ashcroft said the sale of drug paraphernalia has exploded on
the Internet, making it easier for teenagers and young adults
to buy it. The items often are disguised as such things as
lipstick cases to escape detection and are marketed under code
names and symbols.
"Quite simply, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry has
invaded the homes of families across the country without their
knowledge," Ashcroft said in a statement. "This illegal,
billion-dollar industry will no longer be ignored by law
enforcement."
The Internet sites go by such names as Smokelab.com,
Aheadcase.com and puffpipes.com, according to the Justice
Department (news - web sites).
The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement
Administration along with the U.S. Marshals, Secret Service,
Customs Service and Postal Inspection Service.
"People selling drug paraphernalia are in essence no different
than drug dealers," said John Brown, acting DEA chief. "They
are as much a part of drug trafficking as silencers are a part
of criminal homicide."