CONVICTED CLERKS SOLD METH INGREDIENTS

2 Employees Sentenced To 1 Year, 1 Day Each For Selling Matches

Two Rutherford County convenience store clerks convicted in federal
court on methamphetamine-related charges had ignored government
warnings that their activities were illegal, prosecutors said Thursday.

Niren Patel, 30, who managed the Oakland Quik Mart store in Spindale,
was sentenced Wednesday to one year and one day in prison.

Nishith "Neal" Suthar, 31, owner of Bon Bon Market in Rutherfordton,
received the same sentence April 25.

The two men were convicted in September of distributing chemicals and
products that can be used for meth production. At the time of their
arrest, federal officials said the men had sold large amounts of
household matches, containing a key ingredient in meth production.

Theirs is thought to be among the first such cases brought by federal
officials against store employees in the Carolinas.

Suellen Pierce of the U.S. Attorney's office said both Patel, who now
lists Charlotte as his home, and Suthar were warned by federal agents
over a four-day period in January 2005 that they might be violating
federal law. But both men continued selling the products in question,
according to testimony given at their trials.

The war against methamphetamine has widened to include the retail sale
of products used in producing the drug. North Carolina permits the
sale of cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine, a key component in
meth production, only in small quantities, behind the counter, to
adults. In addition, pharmacists must keep records for two years on
the sale of such products.

South Carolina lawmakers recently approved a similar bill.