St. Louis CofCC Blog

National Examiner:

A massive drug-trafficking ring circulated methamphetamine around the country via buses, vehicles disguised as satellite TV trucks and complex, electronically triggered hiding spots inside cars, authorities said Thursday.

The drug trade began in Mexico, where methamphetamine can be made more easily than in the U.S., said Jane Duke, federal prosecutor for the eastern district of Arkansas. Many U.S. states, including Arkansas, regulate the sale of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, ingredients found in cold medicine that can be used in bulk to make meth.

A three-year investigation - dubbed “Tienda Hielo” or “Ice Store” - into the drug ring has led to about 65 arrests and the seizure of more than 100 pounds of meth, which would have a street value of about $11 million, Duke said. Local, state and federal authorities announced the drug bust Thursday.

According to Duke, the drug was manufactured in Mexico, then brought over the border into San Diego. From there, couriers would transport the drugs throughout the country, sometimes carried on passenger buses cross-country, other times in so-called “clone trucks,” which are made to look like commercial trucks delivering soft drinks or food, said Lt. Keith Eremea of the Arkansas State Police.

Eremea said state troopers are trained to look “for things that just don’t look right.” According to Eremea, drugs are sometimes hidden in complicated electronic traps that can only be accessed through certain settings on the car. For example, a hiding place would open up only if the cruise control was on and the air conditioner was set to a certain level.

Speaking of which, the Post has an editorial today about the futility of strengthening Missouri’s current restrictions on ephederine tablet purchases, and the paranoia about meth lab busts, because Missouri’s labs were trailer park operations that in the aggregate did not produce too much volume.  The Post noted that meth addicts, who need a new source now that the domestic meth industry is dead, are turning to Mexican suppliers.  What was surprising about this editorial is that the Post, like most major American papers, is in support of amnesty and virtually open borders.