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Authorities described this week's raids on San Francisco pot clubs as one of the largest drug crackdowns in the area in recent memory, and said the arrests were the first step in uncovering a major international drug operation.
U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan said agents raided three pot clubs that operated as fronts for marijuana and Ecstasy trafficking, and warned that federal drug laws would be strictly enforced even in cities tolerant of medical marijuana.
"We're empathetic to the ill and to the sick, however we cannot disregard federal law," said Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Javier Pena. "We have the power to enforce federal drug laws even in areas where it might not be popular."
Twenty people were indicted on federal drug charges in court documents unsealed Thursday, and an arrest warrant has been issued for another. Two others face state drug charges, and more arrests are pending, Ryan said.
Following a two-year investigation dubbed Operation Urban Harvest, officials searched a total of 25 homes and businesses throughout the Bay Area on Wednesday. They seized some 9,300 pot plants with a street value of more than $5 million, said Ryan. He said the pot clubs were a base of operation for a larger drug trafficking organization importing and selling large quantities of marijuana and Ecstasy, and engaging in money laundering and cash smuggling.
Pubdate: Fri, 24 Jun 2005
Source: Watertown Daily Times (NY)
Copyright: 2005 Watertown Daily Times
Contact: letters@wdt.net
Website: Watertown Daily Times
U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan said agents raided three pot clubs that operated as fronts for marijuana and Ecstasy trafficking, and warned that federal drug laws would be strictly enforced even in cities tolerant of medical marijuana.
"We're empathetic to the ill and to the sick, however we cannot disregard federal law," said Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Javier Pena. "We have the power to enforce federal drug laws even in areas where it might not be popular."
Twenty people were indicted on federal drug charges in court documents unsealed Thursday, and an arrest warrant has been issued for another. Two others face state drug charges, and more arrests are pending, Ryan said.
Following a two-year investigation dubbed Operation Urban Harvest, officials searched a total of 25 homes and businesses throughout the Bay Area on Wednesday. They seized some 9,300 pot plants with a street value of more than $5 million, said Ryan. He said the pot clubs were a base of operation for a larger drug trafficking organization importing and selling large quantities of marijuana and Ecstasy, and engaging in money laundering and cash smuggling.
Pubdate: Fri, 24 Jun 2005
Source: Watertown Daily Times (NY)
Copyright: 2005 Watertown Daily Times
Contact: letters@wdt.net
Website: Watertown Daily Times
