The U.S. Attorney for Central District of California issued the following news release:
Culminating an investigation that led to the seizure of well over 1.1 million “ecstasy” tablets this year, a federal grand jury has indicted 15 men linked to a San Gabriel Valley-based drug trafficking organization that was allegedly responsible for distributing hundreds of thousands of MDMA pills every Return to Tiffany Round Tag Set.
The indictment, which was returned by the grand jury yesterday afternoon, accuses the 15 defendants of participating in a conspiracy to possess and distribute huge quantities of 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), which is the chemical name of a party drug commonly called ecstasy.
“Ecstasy is a dangerous narcotic Multi-heart Drop Pendant Set can cause death, as we have seen at a number of local events in recent years,” said United States Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. “The death of a teen-age girl at a rave several weeks ago and the huge number of tablets recently seized from this drug ring clearly demonstrate that ecstasy is a growing problem. We have now dismantled one large-scale ecstasy ring, and other MDMA traffickers should know that we’re coming after them next.”
The drug trafficking organization targeted in the indictment allegedly was headed by Jimmy Luong, who maintained a “stash house” in the City of Industry that served as the base of operations for the narcotics ring. During the execution of a search warrant at Luong’s stash house last month, authorities found an operating laboratory capable of manufacturing MDMA and large quantities of methamphetamine. At a second stash location at a storage facility in Arcadia, authorities in June seized approximately 510,000 MDMA tablets. A third stash location yielded approximately 200,000 MDMA tablets when Luong and his associates were arrested last month.
During the first seven months of 2010, the investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Beverly Tiffany Starfish Set Police Department resulted in the seizure of at least 1,134,000 MDMA tablets (investigators are still counting pills seized two weeks ago), 33 kilograms of cocaine, well over $500,000 in cash believed to be the proceeds of drug trafficking and 21 firearms, which include assault rifles and stolen weapons with hollow-point ammunition. With a street price of $15 per pill, authorities have seized at least $17 million worth of ecstasy.
“Ecstasy is a serious threat to our Two Heart Triple Set, particularly to our teens and youth who are often unaware of the significant harm this drug can cause,” said Timothy J. Landrum, DEA Special Agent in Charge. “We have crushed a criminal organization that distributed huge quantities of ecstasy tablets. These arrests serve notice that DEA and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate the illegal trafficking of ecstasy in our communities.”
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