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Law Enforcement Strategy International/National Response
DEA has launched an enforcement and national awareness campaign focused on Ecstasy and other synthetic drugs. "Operation X-Out" targets the increasingly popular drug Ecstasy along with drugs that have become known as "predatory drugs" because they have been used to facilitate sexual assault. DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson believes that Operation X-Out is important because "the use of Ecstasy and predatory drugs among our youth is fast reaching epidemic levels. Unscrupulous dealers and promoters are marketing Ecstasy, Rohypnol, GHB, Ketamine and other lesser known drugs to individuals who, all too often, do not truly understand their potentially devastating effects," Hutchinson said. "Not only is the DEA targeting these traffickers, we're also reaching out to communities in an unprecedented way to get them involved." Miami Field Division Hosts Club Drug Conference
from left: Marcos Jimenez, U.S. Attorney Southern District of Florida, John Brown, Acting DEA Administrator, Thomas W. Raffanello, Special Agent in Charge Miami Field Division, Don DeLucca, Police Chief City of Miami Beach and Larry Freeman, Police Chief City of Bal Harbour.
from left: John Brown, Acting DEA Administrator and Thomas W. Raffanello, Special Agent in Charge Miami Field Division, From February 4-6, the Miami Field Division (MFD) hosted a three-day conference on "club drugs" as part of DEA's nationwide Operation X-OUT. On February 4, SAC Thomas W. Raffanello opened the conference, which was themed "Dancing with Darkness." Opening remarks were provided by DEA Acting Administrator John Brown, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Marcos Jimenez, City of Miami Beach Police Chief Don DeLucca and City of Bal Harbour Police Chief Larry Freeman. Several topics were discussed on opening day, which was primarily aimed at members of the community and the press. On February 5, federal, state, local and foreign liaison law enforcement agencies convened to discuss the problems of club drugs and potential strategies. The final day was held at the MFD Training room and several MFD groups presented their significant MDMA cases to representatives of the Netherlands National Synthetic Drugs Unit.
Operation Webslinger: A Recent GHB Operation
Awareness of GHB's
use to facilitate sexual assault is largely due to the efforts of the
family of Samantha Reid. Reid, a fifteen-year old Michigan girl, died
after ingesting GHB that was slipped into her soda by a classmate. The
law that declared GHB a Schedule I drug is named in Reid's honor. Reid's
mother Judi Clark was at DEA to help announce the success of Operation
Webslinger.
DEA
Arrests 8 in Today the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) in Miami, together with the U.S. Attorney's Office
announce the arrest of eight defendants involved in an international ketamine
distribution ring which has been operating in South Florida for the past
year. Several local police departments and federal agencies assisted in
this investigation: Miami Beach Police Department, Broward County Sheriff's
Office, Coral Gables Police Department, United States Secret Service,
City of Miami Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms,
Internal Revenue Service. DEA
Missouri Office Seizes On
April 21, 2002, the DEA Springfield Missouri Resident Office assisted
the Missouri State Highway Patrol with the seizure of a shipment of Ketamine
believed to be en route from Los Angeles to New York. Law enforcement
officers discovered 5 suitcases containing a total of 20 sealed Federal
Express Packages. Contained inside these boxes was a total of three thousand
nine hundred ninety eight (3,998) ten milliliter vials of Ketamine.
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DEA
hosted the International Conference on Ecstasy and Club Drugs in
partnership with approximately 300 officials from domestic and foreign
law enforcement, judicial, chemical, prevention and treatment communities.
The conference was held from July 31, 2000 to August 2, 2000 at DEA Headquarters
in Arlington, Virginia. As a follow-up to the conference, almost all of
the DEA Field Divisions have hosted/sponsored club drug conferences. DEA
headquarters has directed the Demand Reduction Coordinators (DRCs) to
continue hosting club drug conferences within their respective areas of
responsibility. 
DEA
Operation Webslinger went down on September 18, 2002, arresting dozens
responsible for trafficking GHB and other "date rape" drugs
over the internet. 
In
Denver, Colorado, DEA announced 55 arrests that took place as part of
"Operation Green Clover," an investigation into one of the largest
Ecstasy distribution networks in the country. Those arrested included
the leader of the drug ring, several cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy,
and the three people responsible for selling an Ecstasy tablet that caused
the death of Brittney Chambers, a 16-year-old Colorado girl, in January
2001. Most of the arrests occurred on August 30, 2001. 
