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Glass Supplier And Manufacturer Busted For Allegedly Trafficking Drug
Paraphernalia
Law enforcement officials arrested the owners of a popular Northcoast glass
manufacturer for trafficking drug paraphernalia.
Last Tuesday, Ryan Teurfs, Jason Vrbas and Gabriel Watson, the three owners
of 101 North and The Glass House, were indicted in federal court on charges
of conspiracy to sell drug paraphernalia, offering the sale of drug
paraphernalia and the sale of drug paraphernalia, said Mary-Beth Buchanan
of the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The arrests occurred in conjunction with Operation Pipe Dreams and
Operation Headhunter -- a nationwide sweep of glass manufacturers and raw
materials dealers who allegedly distributed illegal drug paraphernalia.
Attorney General John Ashcroft issued the search and seizure warrants
resulting in the indictment of 50 individuals nationwide. Ashcroft stated
the evolving pervasiveness and invasiveness of the Internet has directly
contributed to rise of the drug paraphernalia industry, which law
enforcement will not ignore any longer.
"The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force has taken decisive steps
to dismantle the illegal drug paraphernalia industry by attacking their
physical, financial and Internet infrastructures," Ashcroft said in a press
release issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
During the arraignment, several employees, family members and supporters
packed the courtroom as well as the surrounding area outside the courthouse.
Holding a banner stating, "Free 101 North Humboldt County," about 40 people
huddled around each other on the corner of H and 5th Streets soliciting
commuters on Highway 101 to honk for support.
After the arrests were made and the arraignment was underway, both 101
North and The Glass House were shut down by the DEA task force pending the
upcoming trial.
Patrick Kilmer, an employee of 101 North, said that the closure of both
facilities will have an extremely negative impact on the local community.
"Supposedly they (DEA) feel that producing glass tobacco pipes are being
used for the use of illicit drugs, even though we produce them and market
them specifically as a tobacco product, they are still being misused and
they (DEA) feel this is enough of a reason to come in and arrest these
people," Kilmer said.
However, Buchanan said that the distributors are attempting to deceive the
public by presenting their glassware as a product expressly created for the
consumption of tobacco.
"Some of these people believe that wink, wink, we actually believe what
they are presenting, but we all really know what they are doing," Buchanan
said.
According to Kilmer and several other supporters, 101 North and The Glass
House represent a substantial portion of revenue that Humboldt County
receives annually from glassblowing operations. The closure of both
facilities could potentially lead to a dramatic loss of revenue for the
county. Kilmer said the cost could reach upwards of $2 million dollars.
"Humboldt County directly profits from the money that we make and I think
it's a really detrimental step because we bring so much money into the
community from outside of it," Kilmer said. "Basically this is a Gestapo
fascist tactic to try and shut us down, because they think that drug money
is funding terrorism and our products could be misconstrued as drug
paraphernalia."
According to the DEA press release, the indictments also include comments
about the use of the Internet as a means of introducing and selling drug
paraphernalia to underage buyers who are quickly becoming the primary
Internet users.
Daniel Levinson, another 101 North employee, said that the Internet charges
are completely unrelated to the operation that is carried out by the 101
North and its subsidiary. "We go to extreme measures to ensure that
underage buyers are not able to purchase any of our products," he said.
"We have a Web page that we exclusively use for advertising but not for the
sale of any or our products."
Currently, all financial records and accounts used by 101 North and The
Glass House have been frozen by warrants issued from the DEA.
Don Hines, Chief of Public Affairs for the U.S. Marshal's Office said that
the accounts will be blocked indefinitely until the status of the financial
records have been determined by the court.
"The records need to be examined to determine whether they were part of a
criminal process to sell drug paraphernalia," Hines said.
"If the records prove to be part of a criminal activity, then the accounts
will be released to the U.S. Marshal's Office and redistributed to law
enforcement agency activities and programs."
On Sunday, the defendants were flown to Pennsylvania where they will be
tried on federal charges of selling drug paraphernalia. Several Humboldt
County residents are planning benefits for the families of employees of
both companies that are to take place when venues are confirmed.
Pubdate: Wed, 05 Mar 2003
Source: Lumberjack, The (CA Edu)
Copyright: The Lumberjack Newspaper, Humboldt State Univesity, 2003
Contact: thejack@humboldt.edu
Website: https://www.thejack.org/
Paraphernalia
Law enforcement officials arrested the owners of a popular Northcoast glass
manufacturer for trafficking drug paraphernalia.
Last Tuesday, Ryan Teurfs, Jason Vrbas and Gabriel Watson, the three owners
of 101 North and The Glass House, were indicted in federal court on charges
of conspiracy to sell drug paraphernalia, offering the sale of drug
paraphernalia and the sale of drug paraphernalia, said Mary-Beth Buchanan
of the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The arrests occurred in conjunction with Operation Pipe Dreams and
Operation Headhunter -- a nationwide sweep of glass manufacturers and raw
materials dealers who allegedly distributed illegal drug paraphernalia.
Attorney General John Ashcroft issued the search and seizure warrants
resulting in the indictment of 50 individuals nationwide. Ashcroft stated
the evolving pervasiveness and invasiveness of the Internet has directly
contributed to rise of the drug paraphernalia industry, which law
enforcement will not ignore any longer.
"The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force has taken decisive steps
to dismantle the illegal drug paraphernalia industry by attacking their
physical, financial and Internet infrastructures," Ashcroft said in a press
release issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
During the arraignment, several employees, family members and supporters
packed the courtroom as well as the surrounding area outside the courthouse.
Holding a banner stating, "Free 101 North Humboldt County," about 40 people
huddled around each other on the corner of H and 5th Streets soliciting
commuters on Highway 101 to honk for support.
After the arrests were made and the arraignment was underway, both 101
North and The Glass House were shut down by the DEA task force pending the
upcoming trial.
Patrick Kilmer, an employee of 101 North, said that the closure of both
facilities will have an extremely negative impact on the local community.
"Supposedly they (DEA) feel that producing glass tobacco pipes are being
used for the use of illicit drugs, even though we produce them and market
them specifically as a tobacco product, they are still being misused and
they (DEA) feel this is enough of a reason to come in and arrest these
people," Kilmer said.
However, Buchanan said that the distributors are attempting to deceive the
public by presenting their glassware as a product expressly created for the
consumption of tobacco.
"Some of these people believe that wink, wink, we actually believe what
they are presenting, but we all really know what they are doing," Buchanan
said.
According to Kilmer and several other supporters, 101 North and The Glass
House represent a substantial portion of revenue that Humboldt County
receives annually from glassblowing operations. The closure of both
facilities could potentially lead to a dramatic loss of revenue for the
county. Kilmer said the cost could reach upwards of $2 million dollars.
"Humboldt County directly profits from the money that we make and I think
it's a really detrimental step because we bring so much money into the
community from outside of it," Kilmer said. "Basically this is a Gestapo
fascist tactic to try and shut us down, because they think that drug money
is funding terrorism and our products could be misconstrued as drug
paraphernalia."
According to the DEA press release, the indictments also include comments
about the use of the Internet as a means of introducing and selling drug
paraphernalia to underage buyers who are quickly becoming the primary
Internet users.
Daniel Levinson, another 101 North employee, said that the Internet charges
are completely unrelated to the operation that is carried out by the 101
North and its subsidiary. "We go to extreme measures to ensure that
underage buyers are not able to purchase any of our products," he said.
"We have a Web page that we exclusively use for advertising but not for the
sale of any or our products."
Currently, all financial records and accounts used by 101 North and The
Glass House have been frozen by warrants issued from the DEA.
Don Hines, Chief of Public Affairs for the U.S. Marshal's Office said that
the accounts will be blocked indefinitely until the status of the financial
records have been determined by the court.
"The records need to be examined to determine whether they were part of a
criminal process to sell drug paraphernalia," Hines said.
"If the records prove to be part of a criminal activity, then the accounts
will be released to the U.S. Marshal's Office and redistributed to law
enforcement agency activities and programs."
On Sunday, the defendants were flown to Pennsylvania where they will be
tried on federal charges of selling drug paraphernalia. Several Humboldt
County residents are planning benefits for the families of employees of
both companies that are to take place when venues are confirmed.
Pubdate: Wed, 05 Mar 2003
Source: Lumberjack, The (CA Edu)
Copyright: The Lumberjack Newspaper, Humboldt State Univesity, 2003
Contact: thejack@humboldt.edu
Website: https://www.thejack.org/