62 thoughts on “Operation Meth Merchant”

1. but then someone pointed out that Marijuana was one of Shiva’s favored herbs – maybe marijuana was considered a medicine back then?

   Ummm… not. How about Gita 3:24

   naitat samacarej jatu manasapi hy anisvarah vinasyaty acaran maudhyad yatha Â’rudro Â’bdhi-jam visam

   isvaranam vacah satyam tathaivacaritam kvacit tesam yat sva-vaco-yuktam buddhimams tat samacaret

   “One should simply follow the instructions of the Lord and His empowered servants. Their instructions are all good for us, and any intelligent person will perform them as instructed. However, one should guard against trying to imitate their actions. One should not try to drink the ocean of poison in imitation of Lord Siva.”

   We should always consider the position of the isvaras, or those who can actually control the movements of the sun and moon, as superior. Without such power, one cannot imitate the isvaras, who are superpowerful. Lord Siva drank poison to the extent of swallowing an ocean, but if any common man tries to drink even a fragment of such poison, he will be killed. There are many pseudo devotees of Lord Siva who want to indulge in smoking ganja (marijuana) and similar intoxicating drugs, forgetting that by so imitating the acts of Lord Siva they are calling death very near. Similarly, there are some pseudo devotees of Lord Krsna who prefer to imitate the Lord in His rasa-lila, or dance of love, forgetting their inability to lift Govardhana Hill. It is best, therefore, that one not try to imitate the powerful, but simply follow their instructions; nor should one try to occupy their posts without qualification. There are so many “incarnations” of God without the power of the Supreme Godhead.

2. I am involved in the case. It appears that the “informant” was a jailbird cutting a deal for himself.
   At least some of the store clerks were cautious and selling only the legal limit of the items that can be used to manufacture meth. The grocery list is quite extensive. If the informant muttered “I’m going to cook some meth,” then I doubt if many understood what he was talking about.

3. Local With Knowledge (I like your handle, btw :), can you tell us where we can find out more? Do you know more?

   I’m curious about how this all actually played out (as opposed to what the government’s saying so far and what hte media is inexplicably largely regurgitating).

   -s

4. Looks like the sceptics were right after all.

   Cultural Differences Complicate a Georgia Drug Sting Operation

   When they charged 49 convenience store clerks and owners in rural northwest Georgia with selling materials used to make methamphetamine, federal prosecutors declared that they had conclusive evidence. Hidden microphones and cameras, they said, had caught the workers acknowledging that the products would be used to make the drug. Malvika Patel, left, and her husband, Chirag, in Ringgold, Ga. Ms. Patel spent three days in jail in a drug case before being cleared. The authorities had accused her of selling a medicine used to make methamphetamine. But weeks of court motions have produced many questions. Forty-four of the defendants are Indian immigrants – 32, mostly unrelated, are named Patel – and many spoke little more than the kind of transactional English mocked in sitcoms. So when a government informant told store clerks that he needed the cold medicine, matches and camping fuel to “finish up a cook,” some of them said they figured he must have meant something about barbecue. The case of Operation Meth Merchant illustrates another difficulty for law enforcement officials fighting methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug that can be made with ordinary grocery store items. Many states, including Georgia, have recently enacted laws restricting the sale of common cold medicines like Sudafed, and nationwide, the police are telling merchants to be suspicious of sales of charcoal, coffee filters, aluminum foil and Kitty Litter. Walgreens agreed this week to pay $1.3 million for failing to monitor the sale of over-the-counter cold medicine that was bought by a methamphetamine dealer in Texas. But the case here is also complicated by culture. Prosecutors have had to drop charges against one defendant they misidentified, presuming that the Indian woman inside the store must be the same Indian woman whose name appeared on the registration for a van parked outside, and lawyers have gathered evidence arguing that another defendant is the wrong Patel. The biggest problem, defense lawyers say, is the language barrier between an immigrant store clerk and the undercover informants who used drug slang or quick asides to convey that they were planning to make methamphetamine. “They’re not really paying attention to what they’re being told,” said Steve Sadow, one of the lawyers. “Their business is: I ring it up, you leave, I’ve done my job. Call it language or idiom or culture, I’m not sure you’re able to show they know there’s anything wrong with what they’re doing.” For the Indians, their lives largely limited to store and home, it is as if they have fallen through a looking glass into a world they were content to keep on the other side of the cash register. “This is the first time I heard this – I don’t know how to pronounce – this meta-meta something,” said Hajira Ahmed, whose husband is in jail pending charges that he sold cold medicine and antifreeze at their convenience store on a winding road near the Tennessee border. But David Nahmias, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said the evidence showed that the clerks knew that the informants posing as customers planned to make drugs. Federal law makes it illegal to sell products knowing, or with reason to believe, that they will be used to produce drugs. In these cases, lawyers say, defendants face up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. In one instance, Mr. Nahmias said, a store owner in Whitfield County pulled out a business card from a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent and told the informant that he was supposed to contact the agent if someone requested large amounts of the materials. When the informant asked if he would call, Mr. Nahmias said, the owner replied, “No, you are my customer.” “It’s not that they should have known,” Mr. Nahmias said. “In virtually or maybe all of the cases, they did know.” Like many prosecutors, Mr. Nahmias describes methamphetamine, a highly potent drug that can be injected, ingested or inhaled, as the biggest drug problem in his district. While only about a third of the meth here is made in small labs – the majority of the drug used in this country comes from so-called superlabs in Mexico – those small labs can be highly explosive, posing a danger to children, the environment and the police departments that are forced to clean them up. Their sources, he said, are local convenience stores. “While those people may not think they’re causing any harm, the harm they cause is tremendous,” Mr. Nahmias said. “We really wanted to send the message that if you get into that line of business, selling products that you know are going to be used to make meth, you’re going to go to prison.” Operation Meth Merchant started, Mr. Nahmias said, with complaints from local sheriffs that certain stores were catering to the labs. Prosecutors paid confidential informants – some former convicts, others offered the promise of lighter punishment for pending charges – to buy products in stores in six counties beginning in early 2004, and drop hints that they were making drugs. Defense lawyers said some of the defendants probably did know what they were doing when they sold the materials. But on several tapes, provided by the government to the lawyers, who played them for a reporter, it was not always clear that the people behind the counter understood. One recording captures an informant who walked into the Tobacco and Beverage Mart in Trenton, Ga., and asked for Pseudo 60, a particularly potent brand of cold medicine, which contains pseudoephedrine, the key ingredient of methamphetamine. The clerk, Mangesh Patel, 55, said the store no longer carried it. “Police guy came here said don’t sell,” Mr. Patel said. “Misuse. Public misuse.” The informant replied: “I know what they’re doing with it, because that’s what I’m going to do with it.” “Yah,” Mr. Patel replied, “public misuse.” When the informant found another bottle of pills that he said might work, Mr. Patel told him he could sell only two, under orders from “the police guy.” The informant asked if his friend could come in and buy two more. “Yeah,” Mr. Patel replied, “But I cannot sell two to one guy.” Defense lawyers say the Indians were simply being good merchants and obeying what they believed was the letter of the law. Several refused to sell more than two bottles of cold medicine, citing store policy. They were charged, prosecutors say, because they allowed the “customers” to come back the next day for more. Prosecutors say that should have made it clear to the clerks that the buyers were up to no good. In some cases, the language barriers seem obvious – one videotape shows cold medicine stacked next to a sign saying, “Cheek your change befor you leave a counter.” Investigators footnoted court papers to explain that the clue the informants dropped most often – that they were doing “a cook” – is a “common term” meth makers use. Lawyers argue that if the courts could not be expected to understand what this meant, neither could immigrants with a limited grasp of English. “This is not even slang language like ‘gonna,’ ‘wanna,’ ” said Malvika Patel, who spent three days in jail before being cleared this month. ” ‘Cook’ is very clear; it means food.” And in this context, she said, some of the items the government wants stores to monitor would not set off any alarms. “When I do barbecue, I have four families. I never have enough aluminum foil.” According to court records, prosecutors first identified Ms. Patel as the woman who sold two bottles of cold medicine to an informant in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., because her name appeared on the registration of a van parked outside. But the driver of the van worked for a company, owned by her and her husband, that installs security cameras, and Ms. Patel produced records showing that she was picking her son up at a day care center in Tennessee at the moment she was said to be in Georgia. Her misidentification has fueled the belief among the Indians that investigators were operating on cultural bias. This corner of the state is still largely white; Indians began moving here about 10 years ago, buying hotels and then convenience stores, and some whites still say, mistakenly, that “Patel” means “hotel” in Hindi. “They want to destroy all Indian businesses,” said Ms. Ahmed, whose husband is in jail. “Because they hate us, or I don’t know.” Mr. Nahmias said he was willing to consider evidence of language barriers when the cases went to trial later this year. But he denied singling out any group. “We follow the evidence where it goes,” he said. Still, the case has set off ripples from the green ridges here to the Indian state of Gujarat, the traditional homeland of Patels, where newspapers have carried articles about the arrests. “We go into temple and they look at you – it’s a bad image right now,” said Dilip Patel, who owns one of the stores involved. “If I have to go to the City Hall to do some paper, they see me ‘Patel,’ they look at me I’m a hard man, I’m a bad guy.” Malvika Patel’s husband, who has Americanized his name from Chirag to Chris, says his wife’s arrest made him think about selling his three stores and leaving the country. “We are from so much cleaner society where we are from in India,” he said. “We didn’t even know what drugs were.” Ms. Patel says she has tried to shield herself from the ugly aspects of life here – she does not read newspapers because she wearies of all the crime. Maybe, she said, that was a mistake. “I think you need all this bad knowledge now if you want to live here.”

5. There have been three persons of Indian descent now that have been misidentified, according to a local attorney who is one county away from me. He represented the woman Malvika Patel and now represents a man allegedly in my county who was also misidentified. He was in New York working at a sandwich shop when they said he was in Georgia selling components of methamphetamine. On the news it was being said that a lot was being assumed about what these clerks “knew”.

6. meth is probably the #1 cause of burglaries and property crimes (including against small business)

   Poorly cited and unsupported statistics are probably the #1 cause of terrorism and other bad things.

7. I think that anybody that would ever do meth is retarted cause it just wastes there time. I have seen to many people almost die an one of them is my cuz an the reason i say that is because he got up to 70 pounds an he is two months older than me an i turn 16 in may now thats BAD YOU TELL ME IF IT ANT

8. I know there was an interesting thread on the topic of the South Asian convenience store merchants who were rounded up in June 2005. I thought those who wrote in would be interested in this statement which came out today. (By the way, 75% of convenience stores in North Georgia are owned by whites, which does suggest racial profiling here…) There’s actions you can take if you think so too…

   Stop the Racially Targeted Prosecutions of South Asian Merchants in Operation Meth Merchant

   The Racial Justice Campaign Against Operation Meth Merchant will be holding a press event at the Asian American Convenience Stores Association (778 Dekalb Industrial Way, Decatur, GA) on Sunday, January 8, 2006 at 1:30 pm to protest the U.S. DEA’s unlawful and unfair targeting of South Asian convenience store owners.

   Operation Meth Merchant is the name given by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to their latest effort in the federal government’s crack down on communities of color as part of this country’s War on Drugs. In northwest Georgia in July, a dozen, mostly white, English-speaking informants convicted of possessing, producing, and selling an illegal drug called methamphetamine (meth) were promised reductions in their prison sentences if they assisted with successful prosecutions of store clerks from whom they bought the ingredients to create meth.

   The racial targeting of South Asians and prosecutorial blunders in this operation are outrageous. Even though the majority of convenience store owners in the area are white, the prosecutions and informants specifically targeted the Indian community. Forty-four of the forty-nine people indicted are South Asian, and thirty-three of them have the last name Patel. At least one of these confidential informants has a history of fraud convictions. A couple of the cases have been dropped because an informant obviously misidentified the store clerks.

   The DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) either targeted these stores or they’re just incompetent, said Dan Horowitz de Garcia, an organizer with Communities United for Action, Power & Justice, a state criminal justice coalition. During this time, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, and Costco all were selling charcoal and cold medicine in large quantities. It’s clear the agency wasn’t trying to stop meth production–they were trying to get easy convictions.

   The store clerks and shop owners, many of whom do not speak fluent English, were indicted for allegedly knowing that the products they were selling would be used to create meth. Meth is a highly addictive stimulant that can be made using everyday, legal household products such as Sudafed, Tylenol Cold capsules, and Max Brand Pseudo 60s. These medicines are legal, over-the-counter products that are bought all over the country.

   Those indicted are not only facing up to 25 years in prison, forfeiture of their stores and fines of up to $250,000, they are likely to be deported as well. U.S. immigration laws allow deportation of people convicted of drug-related crimes, despite their ties to the community, American-born children with U.S. citizenship, or long-time residency in this country. Based on questionable evidence, these prosecutions are tearing families apart and doing nothing to stop the meth problem in Georgia. My mom, wife, and everybody are just crying all day long, said one of the merchants affected. I cannot even sleep. I have been on house arrest for 7 months. I feel so terrible…. I don’t have the income to pay all these [fines]…. They just hate us. Since the early 1980’s, the United States’ rate of incarceration has grown exponentially. We now have the world’s largest prison population, with 2.1 million people behind bars, 1/3 of whom are there for nonviolent drug-related offenses. This number represents more people behind bars than all the European nations combined. Numerically, the majority of people that use and sell drugs are white, yet the vast majority of people convicted and incarcerated for drug-related offenses are people of color.

   The War on Drugs has been devastating the most marginalized communities for years, said Priyanka Sinha, a staff person with Raksha, an organization based in Atlanta that provides a range of services for the South Asian community. Black communities, poor communities have all been hit hard. We know we have to fight back or the same will happen here.

   The Asian American Convenience Store Association (AACSA), Communities United for Action, Power & Justice, Queer Progressive Agenda (QPA), Raksha, South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow (SAALT), and the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) have formed a coalition called The Racial Justice Campaign Against Operation Meth Merchant to stop the unlawful and unjust prosecutions of South Asian convenience store owners in North Georgia.Upendra Patel, a coalition member from AACSA, says The South Asian community stands united with allies to speak out against the racially biased enforcement of drug laws and the unfair targeting of our community members. It is time for the government’s lawyers to do the right thing and drop the prosecutions.

   The Racial Justice Campaign Against Operation Meth Merchant is mobilizing to stop these racially targeted prosecutions. Many of the people arrested will be in court on Tuesday, January 10, 2006. The coalition will be holding a press event at Asian American Convenience Stores Association (778 Dekalb Industrial Way, Decatur, GA) on Sunday, January 8, 2006 at 1:30 pm to protest the U.S. DEA’s unlawful and unfair targeting of South Asian convenience store owners. In addition, the campaign is organizing support for the court date.

   People in the community need to know they aren’t alone, said Sinha. We are mobilizing the South Asian community as well as all communities concerned with justice across Georgia. We won’t take this lying down.

   Take Action!

   1. Sign the Online Petition. Support the campaign by signing the online petition against Operation Meth Merchant, at http://www.petitiononline.com/stopomm/petition.html
   2. Stay updated about the campaign. Join on our yahoogroup, by sending an email to RacialJusticeCampaignAgainstOMM-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
   3. Attend the Media Rally on January 8th. Come to the Asian American Convenience Stores Association, at 778 Dekalb Industrial Way, at 1:30 pm on January 8th to join the protest against the unjust targeting of South Asian store owners and clerks. Help spread the word by printing and distributing the flyer attached.
   4. Join the Campaign. If you belong to an organization that wants to help stop the prosecutions under Operation Meth Merchant, or need more information, contact Deepali, organizer for the Racial Justice Campaign Against Operation Meth Merchant, at StopOMM@mindspring.com or 404.822.5090.

9. don’t forget to sign the petition:

   http://www.petitiononline.com/stopomm/petition.html

10. I had heard the story with the Finishing up a Cook line as well, so the most recently posted version is the one I read.

    I agree that most people wouldnÂ’t have a clue what finishing up a cook means

    It is also interesting that Indians especially in the South are pro Republican, there is nothing like a few unwarranted arrests to suddenly alert everyone to the value of the Bill of Rights.

    We can run ads in the Indian papers, Bill of Rights, not just a liberal nuisance ya know.

    Sorry about that, hehehheheheh.

    It looks quite clearly that many of these are unwarranted prosecutions, but it also raises larger questions, like are convenience store clerks supposed to be law enforcement people and what is their response supposed to be when perfectly ordinary household items are being purchased.

    The fact that it is an Indian community makes it all the more interesting, it’s not exactly Billy the Kidd or Bonnie and Clyde we are talking about.

    IÂ’ll be following it closely and I will sign the petitition.

    Desi Dikri, ciao for now yall.

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