TWO CONVICTIONS, 32 PLEAS IN UNDERCOVER METH STING

Concluding a two-year undercover sting operation in northwest Georgia
that drew criticism from civil rights groups, the U.S. Attorney's
office in Atlanta said it has convicted two men on charges of
distributing products used in the production of methamphetamine, and
won guilty pleas from 32 other defendants.

"Operation Meth Merchant" -- as federal prosecutors dubbed it --
targeted convenience stores where clerks sold drugs containing
ephedrine and pseudoephedrine and other products they knew would be
used to make meth, said U.S. Attorney David Nahmias.

Nahmias said Tuesday that the busts -- 49 people and 16 corporations
were originally charged -- has sharply reduced the illegal production
of the powerfully additive drug.

U.S. District Court Judge Harold Murphy sentenced Mitesh Patel, 29, of
Ringgold, and Alpesh Patel 31, of Rossville, to two years of
probation, and each sentence includes 4 months of home confinement.
Both men cooperated in the government's investigation that began in
January 2004 and resulted in indictments in June 2005. During that
investigation, agents identified 299 small meth labs.

After the June 2005 arrests, law enforcement reported the number of
labs discovered over the next 16 months dropped to 72 labs, U.S.
Attorney David Nahmias said in a statement. In their investigation,
agents seized approximately 13 kilograms of pseudoephedrine and
ephedrine which could be used to "cook" approximately 14 pounds of
meth, worth an estimated street value of $663,000.

In a failed effort to gets dozens of the cases tossed, the American
Civil Liberties Union claimed in federal court that the busts
selectively focused on South Asians while ignoring known white
suspects. While 80 percent of stores in the area of "Operation Meth
Merchant" were owned by whites or other ethnic groups, 23 of the 24
stores targeted were owned by South Asians, claimed the ACLU, whose
suit was thrown out by judge Murphy.

Defense attorneys argued that the clerks, because of language
barriers, often didn't understand the questions being asked them by
undercover agents trying to buy illegal amounts of the legal
pharmaceuticals used in the production of meth. All but five of the 49
convenience store clerks and owners who were indicted are South
Asians, many with the last name Patel.

Charges against 17 defendants were dismissed. Fourteen dismissals were
in connection with guilty pleas by more culpable relatives, said U.S.
Attorney spokesman Patrick Crosby.