Members of Iowa – Illinois Ecstasy Distributing Ring Arrested

JUN 21 -- Davenport – Untied States Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker announced that on June 19 and 20, 2007, following a multi-month investigation, Special Agents of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and officers of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Enforcement Group, Bettendorf Police Department, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and Moline Police Department arrested seven area residents who conspired to distribute in excess of $1 million worth of the drug Ecstasy, or MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxmethamphetamine) in the Quad Cities area.

Agents also served search warrants in both Iowa and Illinois, seizing about $35,000 in cash and over $250,000 worth of Ecstasy.

Ecstasy is a synthetic, psychoactive drug chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline, and accordingly acts both as a stimulant and psychedelic, producing an energizing effect, and distortions in time, perception, and tactile experiences.

Those arrest included Kiet N. Kieu of Bettendorf, Steven A. Webster of Davenport, Anthony L. Dillard of Moline, Shawn M. Demry of Davenport, Justin M. Tincher of Bettendorf, and Kyle T. Watts of Bettendorf. Charges have been filed, and these individuals are alleged to have received Ecstasy from sources in Canada and on the east coast of the United States for at least one year. Each of these individuals has appeared in the U.S. District Court, and they have been ordered temporarily detained pending further proceedings.

The public is reminded that the charges are merely accusations and that the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.