Bill Wittenberger

Yacht, Sparkles Plenty
In may 2001, US/Australia customs and INS completed case that resulted in the seizure of 90 kilograms of cocaine from the yacht Sparkles Plenty. The case involved the transport of cocaine form Peru to Australia, but also had a nexus to the state of Washington. The investigative process revealed the journey of the Sparkles Plenty was fully documented on a web site (to include photos of crew members). Three crewmembers were arrested in Australia. The NW HIDTA Investigative Support Center (ICS) provided analytical support to this case.

HIDTA Integrated TF
In August 2001, the HIDTA Integrated Task Force assisted counterparts in Colorado in a major Ecstasy investigation, arresting one of three suspects' accused of distribution of Ecstasy to 16 year old that resulted in the death of the teenager.

WSP
On August 30, 2001, Nicolas Vasquez, a suspect in the murder of a Washington State Patrol trooper, was sentenced to life in prison without possible release. The NW HIDTA ISC provided time line charts and phone toll analysis in this case. Vasquez was suspected of being involved in drug trafficking activities at the time he was stopped on a traffic violation by the WSP trooper.

LEAD TF
In July 2001, the LEAD Task Force in Yakima with the assistance of the Washington State Patrol and National Guard conducted a marijuana spotting school for 18 law enfocement personnel from agencies across the state. The students then used GPS devices to test their instruction and navigated to 14 different marijuana grow sites. Approximately 4435 marijuana plants were eradicated. In August, a speperate investigation resulted in the seizure 4261more plants for a combined total stret value of $9,036,000.00.

In August 2001, DEA and LEAD ended a three-month OCDETF investigation. Twelve search warrants were executed and nine arrests were made. Two pounds of cocaine, one pound of methamphetamine and five vehicles were seized. The Title III portion of the case was also supported by phone toll analysis and charting by the NW HIDTA ISC.

Thurston County Narcotics TF

In June 2001, the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force assisted in a drug-related homicide. A search warrant was served on the suspect's residence where a Methamphetamine Lab and a small marijuana grow was located.

Border Task Force

Border Task Force Teams made some interesting seizures in the last few months. In July, 2001 US Customs inspectors in Blaine received an anonymous phone call giving the name and license plate of an individual who would be entering the US with a large sum of money. A subsequent search of the vehicle found numerous bundles of currency ($450,000) taped in a cut out portion of the back seat. A day later, Canadian Customs also received an anonymous phone call concerning a motor home that was crossing the border into the US. They seized $572,000 in cash from the motor home.

In July 2001, Park Rangers detained three Canadian citizens in Ross Lake National Park with backpacks. The three advised they were to meet another citizen (detained the day before by the Border Patrol in Canada for cocaine transportation). A search of the backpacks revealed bricks of cocaine weighing 44.8 pounds.

In June 2001, Canada RCMP escorted a Mexican National residing in Bellevue, WA, to the US Border after 11.46 kilograms of ephedrine was removed from the vehicle he was driving. As the state strengthens its laws regarding precusors, illegal Methamphetamine drug lab operators may increase their use of Canada as a source of ephedrine.

In July and August 2001, Border and Customs teams found abandoned marijuana and ecstasy apparently coming form Canada into the US. In July, 60 lbs., of marijuana and 20,238 units of ecstasy were recovered. in the August seizure, 168 lbs., of marijuana and 1007 units of ecstasy were recovered.

Inside this issue:
Message from the Director
Prevention / Treatment Initiatives by Steve Freng
Threat Assessment by Jerry Adams
Future Training
Other HIDTA Newsletters

Watch Center’s phone: 1.888.388.DRUG (3784)
Meth Tip Line: 1.888.609.METH (6384)