Posted on 09/17/2002 11:45:58 PM PDT by weegee
Federal authorities have dismantled a Houston Ecstasy-trafficking ring that used two popular downtown nightclubs to launder profits and was supplied by an international network considered among the largest in the world, officials said Tuesday.
Authorities have charged 24 people in Houston and 10 members of the international organization -- most in Israel, the base of the operation, and in the Netherlands, where the Ecstasy was produced.
Among those charged in Houston are two brothers, Sarabjeet "Rick" Singh and Amrik "Spiro" Singh, who authorities said oversaw a local network that distributed massive amounts of Ecstasy and opened the Spy Club and The Hub to launder profits.
The Singh brothers are charged with money laundering and accused of supervising an operation that has generated more than $11 million since January 1997.
Federal authorities have moved to seize the profits and the Singhs' three local homes, luxury vehicles and bank accounts. The Hub, 312 Main, and Spy Club, 112 Travis, will continue to operate, though all profits will be frozen.
Spiro Singh was arrested Tuesday in Houston. Rick Singh remains at large in Spain.
The distribution cell the Singhs are accused of operating had at least 19 members, officials said, including another owner of The Hub, Harmohind "Mickey" Grewal, who is charged with money laundering and conspiring to distribute Ecstasy. The members face various charges, including possession with the intent to distribute Ecstasy and illegal use of telephones in connection with distribution.
Also arrested was the Houston liaison for the international network, Gal Kofferberg, who is accused of importing Ecstasy to be distributed by the Singhs, and transferring laundered profits overseas, officials said.
"This was a well-organized, well-planned drug trafficking organization that was engaged in the distribution of tremendous amounts of Ecstasy here in Houston," said U.S. Attorney Michael Shelby. "We have disrupted the Houston cell, but we have also penetrated the most significant Ecstasy operation in the world today."
The arrests are the culmination of a three-year investigation that included law enforcement agencies in seven countries and targeted the Singh cell, the largest distributor of Ecstasy in Houston, federal authorities said.
Ecstasy, a club drug often consumed at raves, has become the third most-popular drug in the Houston area, said Maj. George Sturgis of the Harris County Sheriff's Department. Cocaine and marijuana are the most used.
"This is not a harmless drug," Shelby said. "It is a growing problem that has grown exponentially in the past three years."
A noted difficulty in curbing Ecstasy distribution is that most of it is manufactured and smuggled from Europe, unlike such drugs as marijuana and cocaine, which primarily come from South America and Central America, Shelby said.
"This is an entirely different enterprise, with different routes and different methods," Shelby said. "There is a rapid turnover in supply and tremendous profit."
Six members of the Israeli group also have been charged with conspiring to export Ecstasy from Europe to the United States. The ring would purchase large amounts of Ecstasy in the Netherlands and organize couriers to smuggle it into the United States, including Houston, officials said. Once in Houston, the Ecstasy was funneled to Kofferberg, who would distribute it to the Singhs, federal authorities said.
Shelby said the United States will seek the extradition of the international suspects, whom he would like to prosecute in Houston.
People associated with the Clintoon legacy continue to crumble.
A member of the city council has supported Spy over residents who moved to the new lofts around the corner from the nightspot (said councilmember told the Houston Press that the resident should have moved to the Woodlands if he didn't want downtown sounds outside his window).
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