140 HELD IN 8-CITY DRUG BUST

More Texas Arrests Are Possible In Federal Methamphetamine Sweep

WASHINGTON -- Law enforcement agents carried out more than 140 arrests
in the last week in a crackdown aimed at disrupting the operations of
Mexican methamphetamine dealers who peddle their drugs in the United
States.

The sweep, "Operation Mountain Express," targeted individuals believed to
have sold pseudoephedrine, which is key to the production of
methamphetamines, to Mexican-owned labs based in Southern California. The
arrests were carried out in eight cities, including one arrest in Houston.

The pseudoephedrine distribution leaders, mainly of Middle Eastern origin,
sent millions of dollars in profits back home to Israel, Jordan, Saudi
Arabia and Syria, Drug Enforcement Administration officials said Tuesday.

Eight of the 10 leaders in the loosely organized network, who called
themselves "The Commission," were arrested, DEA said. Additional arrests
were expected.

Pseudoephedrine, which is a legal ingredient in over-the-counter drugs to
relieve nasal or sinus congestion, is also an essential ingredient in the
production of methamphetamine. Authorities have devoted new attention to
the illegal stimulant in recent years, alarmed by a rising popularity
fueled by its low cost and ease of production.

"Methamphetamine poses a very serious threat to our communities," Attorney
General Janet Reno said at a news conference. "It is threatening to follow
in the footsteps of crack and take over communities. And in some
communities it already has."

Operation Mountain Express "strikes at the very heart of methamphetamine
production in this country,'' said DEA Administrator Donnie Marshall, who
joined Ms. Reno at the news conference to announce the arrests. "Without
pseudoephedrine or its chemical relative ephedrine, it's really virtually
impossible for the traffickers to produce high-quality and high-yield
methamphetamine."

Federal law requires strict registration and record-keeping requirements
for those who manufacture, sell and distribute pseudoephedrine to prevent
its misuse.

"Whether you're a dealer, a manufacturer, or one who makes it all possible
by providing the chemical ingredients, you will be held accountable," Ms.
Reno said.

Methamphetamine, also known as crank or speed, distorts behavior patterns,
and users may become violent, delusional or paranoid.

The operation, initiated last December, has seized $8 million worth of
goods, including 10 metric tons of pseudoephedrine tablets that could be
processsed into 18,000 pounds of meth. The crackdown also resulted in the
confiscation of 83 pounds of methamphetamine and the shutdown of 18
pseudoephedrine companies.

Gareeb Salem of Sama Wholesale in Houston was among those arrested;
officials said additional arrests in Texas may be made.

Distributors of pseudoephedrine in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, San
Antonio, Tyler and Waco were among those investigated. The status of those
investigations was not released by officials, but they said that there may
be civil or administration actions in some of those cases.

DEA Assistant Special Agent Jack Riley said some of "The Commission"
members plotted to change their couriers and send smaller shipments so as
not to look suspicious when they realized that federal officials had become
aware of their larger-than-normal sales of pseudoephedrine.

Last year, DEA shut down 6,835 clandestine labs, including 176 in Texas.
Nationwide, 204 seized were classified as Mexican-owned "super labs"
targeted in the operation.