PREJUDICE CITED IN METH STING

A northwest Georgia sting targeting merchants who knowingly sold
materials needed to make methamphetamine selectively focused on South
Asians while ignoring known white suspects, the American Civil
Liberties Union claimed in federal court Wednesday.

The motion asks the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
Georgia to toss out dozens of cases stemming from the 18-month investigation.

The ACLU said that while more than 80 percent of stores in the area
where "Operation Meth Merchant" was conducted are owned by whites or
other ethnic groups, 23 of the 24 stores targeted by the
investigation are owned by South Asians.

All but five of the 49 convenience store clerks and owners who were
indicted are South Asians, many with the last name Patel.

David Nahmias, U.S. attorney, dismisses the claims of selective prosecution.

"We prosecute people based on the evidence and the law, not their
race or ethnicity," he said in a statement.

In its motion for dismissal, the ACLU argued that police did not act
on tips implicating at least 16 white-owned stores in the area, and
in one case alerted the store owner to remove particular products
from store shelves to avoid prosecution.

In the investigation that began in December 2003, 16 informants went
to stores in six northwest Georgia counties where they were sold
common household products, such as cold medicine and matchbooks, even
after they told clerks they planned to make meth.

The ACLU said that in many cases, the clerks, with limited English
proficiency, did not understand the slang used by the informants,
such as "cook."

"They only sent me to Indian stores...they wanted me to say things
like .. 'Hurry up, I've got to get home and finish a cook'," said an
undercover informant in a sworn statement attached to the ACLU's legal papers.

Nahmias said motions claiming selective prosecutions have been denied
by a magistrate judge and the rulings upheld by the District Court.
Twenty-three defendants have already pleaded guilty. Eight cases have
been dismissed.

"We are continually assessing each case on its own merit," Nahmias said.