MAINLINE TO METH: OUR PIPELINE TO HELL

The Rise And Fall Of Manitoba's Crystal Meth Kingpin

ON July 10 , 2004, a truck pulling a horse trailer approached the U.S.
side of the busy Queenston-Lewiston Bridge border crossing just east
of Niagara Falls.

The driver, an American named Louis Russo, was coming from the
Hamilton area. He'd made the trip often; crossing the border had never
been a problem. But this time, officers with the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration were waiting for him.

For months, the DEA and Royal Canadian Mounted Police had listened in
on his phone conversations; secretly watching Russo, his family, his
friends and their acquaintances on both sides of the border.

Inside the horse trailer, officers found three duffel bags filled with
431 pounds of raw ephedrine, a drug product that since 1988 has been
tightly controlled in the United States. It's the key ingredient in
the manufacture of crystal methamphetamine -- meth -- one of the most
dangerous and addictive street drugs in the world.

In Canada, ephedrine use is regulated by the federal government --
Health Canada. But somebody was shipping it by the barrel into the
U.S.

On Sept. 15, 2004, two months after Russo's arrest, 250 officers in
Canada and the U.S. moved simultaneously. They raided 34 homes and
businesses, from Hanna, Alta., to Buffalo, N.Y. and Sacramento,
Calif., and arrested more than 90 suspects. RCMP called it Operation
Diversion; it was Operation Brain Drain in the States. The accused,
police alleged, were in a scheme that involved smuggling enough
ephedrine into the United States to manufacture $100 million worth of
crystal meth a year.

The day of the raids, members of a North End Winnipeg gym found the
doors locked when they arrived for their workouts. One angry fitness
buff banged on a window. A heavy-set man stared back and lifted the
right side of his jacket, revealing his police-issue Glock pistol.

The gym -- Trans Canada Fitness -- was owned by Lac Du Bonnet resident
Rodger Bruneau, a well-known figure among local strength athletes.
After the raids, he was in police custody as the alleged mastermind of
the ephedrine pipeline to the U.S. It was Bruneau, police alleged, who
had realized Health Canada had no control over ephedrine
distribution.

RCMP in Winnipeg held a news conference the day after the raids. They
said they'd seized 9,000 kilograms of ephedrine -- worth an estimated
$14.5 million as meth on the street -- along with $3.5 million cash.

Bruneau was about to lose everything. He was in a world of trouble and
needed a way out. He'd find one.

LAC DU BONNET

Rodger Patrick Bruneau, 42, worked hard to be the biggest man on the
block. A devoted body builder and long-time "strongman" competitor, he
took great pride in his stocky 5'8, 235-pound body.

Bruneau swore off alcohol and drugs, but had no problem using
pharmaceutical and health supplements to hulk up his appearance.

Everything about Bruneau was big, from his ambitious plans to open
Trans Canada Fitness centres across Western Canada, to the
balls-to-the-wall way he drove his muscle cars.

Cars -- like his two Dodge Vipers -- were his second
passion.

His collection of highway speeding tickets reflected a man who liked
living fast. Many of the tags were for speeds of 140 km/h or more.

"Everything he did was extreme," younger brother Mike Bruneau says,
standing outside the Lac Du Bonnet Trans Canada Fitness gym.

"My brother always thought big."

Besides his gyms, Bruneau also created Omni Sport Nutrition, a health
supplement company that was soon synonymous with Trans Canada Fitness.

But it wasn't all roses for Rodger. Those close to him knew he had a
bad heart. It slowed him down, but in no way changed his plan to have
enough money retire to his home in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley
before age 50. According to a court document, Bruneau was waiting for
a heart transplant. He had surgery in 1997 to replace a damaged heart
valve. The operation probably saved his life, but left him always
short of breath.

Remarkably, it didn't stop him from competing in strongman events with
men nearly half his age.

Outside of his gyms and competitions, Bruneau also had a reputation
for a hair-trigger temper, something that may have been brought on by
his use of anabolic steroids.

His marriage fell apart in the early 1990s following a history of
verbal and physical confrontations, according to court documents and
family members.

Much of it was witnessed by their young son, Rodger
Jr.

Now 20, he recalls the time his mother destroyed his father's
weightlifting trophies during a fit of rage.

"It was crazy, they would fight all the time," Rodger Jr.
said.

Bruneau's ex-girlfriend went to court in 1999 seeking shelter from him
as their three-year relationship fell apart.

He had a minor criminal record, but it was mostly dated. It included a
1981 conviction for possession of drugs for the purpose of
trafficking, a 1991 conviction for uttering a forged document and a
1993 conviction for theft. For all his faults, Bruneau had tried to be
a good father to his young son.

He'd moved back to Manitoba from B.C.in 1993 after his marriage broke
up to live in the Lac Du Bonnet area, where his grandparents, parents
and extended family lived.

Rodger Jr. later began splitting his time between his father's home
north of Winnipeg and his mother's in B.C.

He eventually settled in Manitoba with his father in the late
1990s.

When Rodger Jr. began living a party lifestyle in his mid-teens --
staying up all night, getting drunk, experimenting with drugs like
crystal meth -- his father laid down the law.

"He despised smoking, and despised drinking even more," says Rodger
Jr.

Those are curious attributes for man who was making a fortune shipping
huge amounts of ephedrine - for the manufacturing of one of North
America's most dangerous drugs - into the United States. Small-town
Manitoba had become ground zero in the flow of a drug that was
destroying lives across the U.S. That was OK for Bruneau, as long as
his boy didn't drink or smoke.

RANCHO CORDOVA, CALIFORNIA Police in this California town had never
heard of Rodger Bruneau from Lac Du Bonnet, Manitoba. A small-time
drug arrest would change all that.

On Aug. 5, 2003, an illegal steroid runner named Jeffrey Stuard parked
his car at U.S. Nutrition, a fitness supplement sale and distribution
outlet in the warehouse district. He was waiting for a friend.

It wasn't long before a man emerged, exchanged pleasantries with
Stuard, and handed him a white bag. Then Stuard slowly drove away.

It was a simple transaction, just like many others over the past two
years. But this time, it didn't go unnoticed. With lights flashing and
sirens blaring, members of the Sacramento County Special
Investigations Unit pounced.

Stuard raced away but police soon had him cuffed. They went right for
the white bag.

A two-year investigation had paid off. They found hundreds of vials of
injectable steroids, worth about $10,000 US on the street, inside the
bag.

Jeffrey Stuard was slapped with six criminal counts, including
transportation and possession of illegal steroids and evading police.
And police believed they now had the proof to bring down the man for
whom he worked.

His name was Richie Mishal, the owner and operator of U.S. Nutrition
and Diamond Nutrition, businesses that police suspected were fronts
for criminal activity. With proof of steroid distribution now in their
possession, police arrested Mishal. He was charged in a conspiracy
that police believed helped make him a very wealthy man.

Mishal's bail was set at $1 million, due largely to his extensive
family ties to Jordan and his risk of flight to that country. A judge
later reduced it to $500,000. Mishal posted it and was released. But
they weren't done with Richie Mishal. They were aware he had developed
an interest in crystal meth, and for the ephedrine to mae it. He'd pop
up on their radar again. And so would Rodger Bruneau.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

"Meth" use had exploded in the western U.S. over the past decade,
cutting a swath of destruction through many communities, including
North Dakota, where police have found more than 600 labs since 2000,
according to the DEA.

U.S. police were aware that somebody was moving large quantities of
ephedrine into the country, and they now believed Mishal had been a
key player in that process since at least the fall of 2002.

What investigators would later learn is that Mishal was getting his
ephedrine - up to 15,000 pounds of it over two years - from Canada.

Helping him do it was Rodger Bruneau.

Police learned of the Bruneau-Mishal relationship from a confidential
informant identified only as CS-01. His information was contained in a
102-page DEA affidavit prepared by agent Bernard Sabonis and filed
Sept. 14, 2004 in a California court. CS-01 was a former employee of
Mishal's at U.S. Nutrition. He was arrested with Mishal in August 2003
on the steroid seizure, and agreed to co-operate with police in
exchange for "consideration" on his charges.

CS-01 told the DEA Mishal was buying ephedrine smuggled from Canada,
specifically from Bruneau.

He said Mishal told him in September, 2002, that shipments of
ephedrine would soon begin arriving at his apartment. CS-01 was to
count the number of kilograms, then call Mishal with the tally.

Sure enough, the drugs started arriving in overnight shipments from
UPS, not from Canada, but through Buffalo, N.Y.

CS-01 claimed he received about four shipments, in cardboard boxes or
in plastic buckets marked "glutamine," a bodybuilding supplement that
helps build and repair muscle. Each shipment weighed about 100 pounds
and arrived at CS-01's apartment between September and November 2002.

In January 2003, the shipments suddenly stopped.

Mishal told CS-01 that Canadian laws had changed regarding ephedrine
imports, exports and production, apparently causing Rodger Bruneau
some headaches in getting the product out of Canada and into their
hands.

In fact, starting Jan. 9, 2003 anyone involved in ephedrine
distribution had to get a licence and permit from Health Canada, the
country's regulatory government agency. The same restrictions applied
to pseudoephedrine, the synthetic version of ephedrine.

The change was in response to criticism in April 2002 from the DEA and
U.S. Customs Service that Canada was a major source of
pseudoephedrine, a common ingredient in over-the-counter cold nasal
decongestants and the main ingredient in crystal meth. In announcing
the new regulations, then-Health Minister Anne McLellan said Canada
was taking a stiffer stance to control the movement of ephedrine and
pseudoephedrine. Both were labelled Class A precursors under Canada's
Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Precursors are chemicals diverted
out of the distribution system and used in the clandestine production
of illicit drugs, including meth and other drugs like Ecstasy;
methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA.

"Today's announcement demonstrates the Government of Canada's
commitment to reducing the supply of illicit drugs available on the
street," McLellan said.

"These new regulations will provide better tools to reduce the
availability of precursor chemicals that are frequently used in
clandestine laboratories to manufacture illicit drugs.''

The new rules meant the bulk movement of ephedrine was to be better
monitored by Health Canada inspectors, who were to track the
distribution of ephedrine, and pseudoephedrine, in Canada.

But Health Canada's new restrictions didn't phase Bruneau. He'd found
a very big loophole in Canada's tough new regulations - nobody was
enforcing them.

CS-01 told the DEA the ephedrine shipments to Sacramento started again
in April 2003.

At the same time, the informant recalled sending money for the
ephedrine to a horse trainer and harness racer named Hugh Stevens who
lived in Derby, N.Y., a community outside Buffalo.

CS-01 also told police he never met Bruneau in person, but spoke with
him almost daily in the spring of 2003 while working at U.S. Nutrition

He said he also spoke with Stevens a few times in the spring of 2003,
with the horseman usually inquiring about the status of his money in
exchange for the ephedrine shipments he had delivered from Bruneau.

BUFFALO, NEW YORK

Hugh McColl Stevens was a former Scotsman who lost his highland brogue
a long time ago when he immigrated first to Canada at age seven and
then moved to the U.S. in his mid-teens.

Though he lived in Derby, N.Y., just outside Buffalo, for the past 37
years, he had never applied for U.S. citizenship.

The slender, charcoal-haired 59-year-old had made his living since
1977 as a harness racer and horse trainer, following, with his family
and friends, the hand-to-mouth seasonal racing circuit in New York
state and southern Ontario.

Despite years of effort, Stevens -- everybody called him Huey -- was
never considered a top trainer.

Court documents say Stevens made only about $25,000 US a year from
harness racing. But U.S. authorities said they believed Stevens earned
big money away from the track. He always had money.

"Everything was always brand new," a fellow trainer at Buffalo Raceway
said in an interview. "He flaunted the money. Everybody questioned
where it came from."

The DEA alleges the harness racing business gave Stevens the perfect
"safe-route" to move contraband across the border from Canada without
raising suspicions. Stevens and his colleagues made frequent trips to
race tracks in southern Ontario, each roughly within a 90-minute drive
of Buffalo; Flamboro Downs, Georgian Downs and Kawartha Downs. "Many
horsemen at Buffalo Raceway were approached by Huey and asked to make
horse-drug runs from Canada," the trainer said. "People were just told
it was horse medication and that it was worth $1,500 a trip.

"People all declined. When you start talking about the international
border, you're talking a lot of problems. Besides, the guy's horses
weren't running that great if they were on drugs. They were always
getting beat."

In August 2003, police learned from their informant, CS-01, that
despite any attempts by Health Canada to control the ephedrine supply,
Bruneau and Stevens were moving huge quantities it into the States,
and that the source was a small health food supplement company in
Thunder Bay, Ont. The pipeline allegedly went through Lac Du Bonnet
and Winnipeg to Hanna, Alta. and then back across Canada to the
Niagara peninsula and across the border into the Buffalo area.

The ephedrine would then be couriered or driven cross-country to
Richie Mishal and his associates in California -- allegedly members of
the Mexican mafia -- where it ended up in clandestine labs that
churned out buckets of crystal methamphetamine.

The DEA believed Bruneau, Mishal, Stevens and dozens of other
co-accused had been involved in the enterprise since November 2002.

In an affidavit, Buffalo DEA special agent Mark Gentile said he
counted nine UPS "shipments" of suspected ephedrine to Mishal. They
totalled 631 pounds and came from a Buffalo suburb not far from Hugh
Stevens' home.

EDMONTON, ALTA.

On Dec. 16, 2003, the DEA met their RCMP counterparts in Edmonton to
exchange notes. The Mounties told DEA agents they, too, had their eyes
on the movement of ephedrine across Canada. One kilogram of ephedrine
can produce about 500 to 600 grams of crystal methamphetamine, each
gram worth up to $100 on the street. When investigators left the
meeting, they believed they were on to one of the largest ephedrine
smuggling rings in North America. RCMP believed that since November
2002, Rodger Bruneau had received more than 15,000 pounds (6,800
kilos) of ephedrine from a small firm in Thunder Bay whose name nobody
could pronounce.

THUNDER BAY, ONT.

Pumpuii Canada Inc. is mostly a one-man business.

"It means big jolly person who's always happy in Thai," says the man
behind it, Donald Sacino.

It's pronounced "poom-poo-yee."

In a way, Pumpuii is Sacino's nickname; the heavy-set, 48-year-old
Bowater pulp and paper mill worker seems to be a genuinely happy
person, despite his arrest with Bruneau in the September 2004 raids.

He's the antithesis of a body builder. He once tipped the scales at
about 300 pounds, but has since trimmed down.

"He's no criminal mastermind of any kind," laughs Lee McKinnon, who
works in a courier's office next door to Pumpuii's small warehouse
space. Sacino, who answered only a few questions before ending the
interview, said Pumpuii originated about 20 years ago as a sideline
meat and cheese import business, the products catering to rich
Americans who come to Ontario's north country to hunt and fish. It's
located in the back of a warehouse tucked behind the Ontario port
city's bus terminal in a district known as the inter-city, the
industrial zone between Port Arthur and Fort William.

At the urging of a family member, Sacino branched out into health food
supplements, creating his own products that quickly became favoured
among the bodybuilding and fitness crowd.

In 1997, Pumpuii Imports became Pumpuii Energy Products. Sacino, who
lived with his parents, spent his nights and weekends selling his
secret diet formulations.

At that time, Sacino's company had approval from Health Canada to deal
in pharmaceutical and therapeutic products under the Pumpuii label;

Health Canada regulates the importing and sale of ephedrine and
related products -- psuedoephedrine and ephedra -- in Canada.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration tightly regulates the
use of ephedrine. Its use in weight-loss supplements was banned in
February 2004 by the FDA because it posed an unreasonable risk of
illness or harm; in particular, it raised blood pressure and increased
heart rate that could lead to a fatal stroke or heart attack. Weight
loss supplements containing ephedrine have been linked to several
deaths, including that of Baltimore Orioles prospect pitcher Steve
Bechler two years ago.

In Canada, ephedrine was still legally available. Health Canada had
also licenced Pumpuii to purchase large amounts of ephedrine
(hydrochloride) through an approved Toronto chemical importer, Chorney
Chemicals Company Inc. Chorney imported the ephedrine from Krebs
Biochemicals and Industries Ltd. in India, where it was chemically
processed.

Health Canada also approved Pumpuii to distribute its four ephedrine
products, mostly over the Internet.

Sacino got to know people in the gym world through various trade shows
and publications. It was at one of the shows that he met Rodger
Bruneau, a gym owner and himself the owner of a dietary supplement
business, Omni Sport Nutrition (OSN), which was based in Hanna, Alta.
In Thunder Bay, those close to Sacino said he was soon making good
money through Pumpuii and his supplements. His secret formulas were
considered the best around, allowing users to safely burn off excess
body fat and help build muscle and strength.

Things were going so well in the spring of 2004, Sacino contemplated
giving up his job at Bowater to work at Pumpuii full-time. He also
thought seriously about selling his company and its formulas.

Still, Sacino didn't lead a lavish lifestyle. He drove a Mazda pickup
truck and was in the process of building a house in a new Thunder Bay
subdivision, Parkdale. The house is now assessed at $262,000 according
to that city's tax department.

Where Health Canada fit into Sacino's plans to sell off Pumpuii is
anyone's guess. Bruneau and his supplements company, weren't approved
by Health Canada, the federal regulator, to handle ephedrine. Neither
was Mishal.

SACRAMENTO

In June 2004 Richie Mishal, at the urging of Rodger Bruneau, was
poised to make a big move.

Bruneau told him Pumpuii was for sale. The supposed price tag was $1
million US. Included in the purchase would be 1,000 kilograms of
ephedrine. Police say that much ephedrine could be used to make up to
750 kilos of crystal meth, worth about $5 million US on the street.

Wire tap evidence, outlined in court documents filed in California,
say Mishal wanted Pumpuii all to himself. With Pumpuii in his hands,
he'd have a endless supply of ephedrine. He even had a plan to set up
an office in Vancouver, where he could slip the ephedrine over the
border, without Hugh Stevens. And Rodger Bruneau was going to make it
happen. He'd be the man in Canada to seal the deal.

Whether Health Canada would approve of it -- Mishal had a criminal
record and lived in the U.S. -- didn't appear to worry him or Bruneau.

Police believe Mishal recruited a business partner, Faisal Rashid, to
help back the purchase of Pumpuii.

Mishal agreed to make a $350,000 US downpayment to Bruneau, with the
balance to come after he'd sold some of the 1,000 pounds of ephedrine
included in the deal.

Police knew of all this through court-approved wiretaps, which came
after the Edmonton meeting. Since April 22, 2004, RCMP had intercepted
calls from several phones related to Trans-Canada Fitness gyms and
Rodger Bruneau. They had listened in on a total of 70,000 calls during
the seven-month investigation.

South of the border, the DEA had started tapping Stevens' cell and
Buffalo-area home phone on May 14, 2004. Across the country in
Sacramento, agents started tapping three phones connected to Mishal on
June 21.

It didn't take long for police to learn about the sale of Pumpuii and
start building their case.

On the Buffalo tap, investigators learned a load of ephedrine had been
sneaked across the border and was delivered by Stevens to Mishal in
Reno, Nevada, on May 15, 2004.

Based on what they knew now, police weren't going to let another get
across.

EMERSON, MAN.

On June 5, 2004, Roger Bruneau's sister, Pam Molner, flew into Long
Beach, Calif. from her home in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Molner rented a car and drove to a Bakersfield shopping mall parking
lot. Police were secretly videotaping her. And they knew what was
going on because the day before, they'd listened in on conversations
between Rodger Bruneau and Richie Mishal.

At the request of her big brother, Molner was playing an integral role
in the sale of Pumpuii. Her twin brother Mike said Pam made the
cross-country trip to help Rodger, nothing else.

"There was no reason to doubt him," Mike says. "If she did have that
inkling, she wouldn't have done it."

In the parking lot, Molner met Faisal Rashid, acting for Mishal, and
was handed a black canvas bag. Inside was $300,000 US -- cash. Molner
flew back to Florida and her family.

On June 11, 2004, a 1998 Ford Windstar bearing Florida licence plates
pulled into the Emerson border crossing at 8:41 p.m. The female driver
was ordered to step outside so customs officials could conduct a
"routine" inspection. Molner's three children, aged eight, six and
four, were also along for the ride.

It didn't take long for Canadian Border Services Agency inspectors to
find something amiss.

Inside a boxed children's tent at the rear of the van was $100,000 US
in cash.

Molner said the money was her brother's, that he was starting an auto
restoration business in Florida. She claimed it was hidden so it
wouldn't be stolen while they drove to Canada, and that she was taking
it back into the U.S. on her return as her brother intended to start
up an auto restoration in Florida. She also said while on her
motortrip, she did not want the cash left unguarded in her Florida
home.

After paying a fine for failing to report the cash, Molner and her
kids continued into Canada. The cash was not seized.

Police were informed of the development as they continued to chip away
at the ever-expanding drug network.

THE QUEENSTON-LEWISTON BRIDGE BORDER CROSSING

July 10, 2004 was a bad day for Louis Russo, a down-on-his-luck
harness racer who was related by marriage to Huey Stevens. The
37-year-old resident of Batavia, N.Y., was behind the wheel of the
truck pulling the horse trailer which, besides a horse, carried 431
pounds of ephedrine in three duffel bags.

"Where did this come from?'' a customs officer asked Russo, according
to a report in the Buffalo News.

"I don't know,'' Russo replied.

The DEA and RCMP knew. They believed it came from Rodger Bruneau and
was on its way to California to make almost $2 million US of crystal
methamphetamine.

Plainclothes officers had watched earlier that day as Stevens and
another harness driverstashed the bags into the trailer at Flamboro
Downs, a harness racing track near Hamilton.

Police believe the ephedrine was half of a shipment destined for
Mishal, which he would sell to help finance his purchase of Pumpuii.

Russo, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of illegally importing
ephedrine in to the United States, declined to be interviewed by the
Free Press.

He was the only person police arrested. Instead of moving in against
the growing list of suspects in the U.S. and Canada, police continued
to listen to their phone wiretaps.

They were not disappointed.

LAC DU BONNET

On July 11, 2004 at 1:12 p.m. Rodger Bruneau called Richie Mishal in
Sacramento to tell him the bad news about Russo.

In almost the same breath, Bruneau asked Mishal if he planned to
transfer $100,000 US cash towards the purchase of Pumpuii as they
needed to seal the deal as soon as possible or risk losing it.

At 9:37 p.m. that night Mishal called the Trans Canada Fitness gym in
Lac Du Bonnet. Bruneau told him the Pumpuii sale must be finalized
ASAP and that more ephedrine -- 500 pounds -- could be on its way soon
through Buffalo. The two appear to have given only cursory attention
to the possibility Hugh Stevens was being watched by police.

They again discussed the Pumpuii deal and whether the "T-shirts" had
been moved to a safe place. Bruneau said they had. Police believe
T-shirts was a code word for ephedrine.

Bruneau said "Huey" would get the rest to Mishal, and Mishal said he
hoped Russo kept his "mouth shut."

Bruneau and Mishal talked again the next day. Mishal appeared to be in
a panic that his bid for Pumpuii could be in jeopardy because of
Russo's arrest. Bruneau again told him he needed $100,000 US right
away because the owner of Pumpuii wanted the deal done.

In Thunder Bay, Donald Sacino apparently was completely unaware
Bruneau was working with Mishal to buy his business.

Mishal told Bruneau his pal Faisal Rishad could come to Canada to take
hold of the remaining 500 pounds of ephedrine.

Mishal said he wanted to come to Canada to meet Bruneau, but couldn't
because his passport had been seized following his August 2003 arrest.

WINNIPEG

On July 28, 2004 police recorded a phone conversation from Faisal
Rashid to Richie Mishal in Sacramento. He was in Winnipeg, with Rodger
Bruneau. Police knew this because thet were watching them.

Bruneau again asked Mishal for the remaining cash to buy Pumpuii.
Mishal wanted to know where the rest of the ephedrine was.

He told Bruneau his funds were in Jordan and that to keep things above
board, Bruneau should fax him a letter saying the money is for part of
the purchase of one of Bruneau's Trans Canada Fitness gyms. The two
agreed $100,000 to $150,000 US could be sent, and then talked about
whether Bruneau's "buddy from the East Coast" ? could safely bring
over the rest of Mishal's ephedrine.

The next day, Rashid called Mishal to complain about Bruneau. Rashid
wanted to see Pumpuii in Thunder Bay, the company Mishal thought he
was buying, but every time he had suggested it, Bruneau told him it
was too far away.

Mishal told Rashid that if they're buying Pumpuii, they must see it.
Mishal said if there's no company, there's no deal with Bruneau --
they'll buy only the remaining ephedrine.

Court documents give no hint, but it appears Rashid and Mishal are
unaware Pumpuii is no more than a sign on a door to a storage room
sandwiched between a courier's office and a meat supplier in a white
cinderblock warehouse on Mooney Street in Thunder Bay.

Still, according to the police wiretap, the two men suspect something
weird is going on with Rodger Bruneau.

The two are also worried about who'll take the loss regarding the
ephedrine seized from the horse trailer of the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge.

Bruneau has already told them it isn't going to be
him.

He has also insisted another $300,000 US be sent to him for the
purchase of Pumpuii.

On a second call that night, Rashid tells Mishal he's uncomfortable
with what's going on with Bruneau and that "something is up."

BUFFALO

Five weeks after Russo is "popped" at the border, police record a
telephone conversation between Rodger Bruneau and Hugh Stevens which
gives them grave concerns.

They believe Bruneau is worried about Russo, out on bail, swinging a
deal with the prosecution. Stevens, according to a court document, is
asking Bruneau for money for Russo's legal defence. Bruneau hedges.

Bruneau: "What is it, though, uh, if they're getting, you know, they're
putting all the money up for his lawyer and, uh, and bail and all this, and
after they do all this."

Stevens: "Pardon?"

Bruneau: "After they do all this, they pay all this, if he rats, if he rats
out on them, then."

Stevens: "If he rats out on me, then we stop paying him."

Bruneau: "Oh no. We don't stop paying him. He'll die. Fuck him."

Stevens: "Well, you...you can do whatever you want to him, but once, you
know, once he turns me in, he's done.'

Bruneau: "No. Once, once he turns you in, it's over."

Stevens: "Right. That's what I mean."

Bruneau: "There will be no witness."

Stevens: "Right. That's what I mean."

In the same conversation, Bruneau tells Stevens he shouldn't tell
Mishal how Russo got caught.

"I wouldn't tell that to the people in California," Bruneau says.
"They'd kill him for stupidity."

Later, Stevens makes it clear he's against Russo being
harmed.

"Right, right. But I mean you gotta understand something. Now this is
my son-in-law's brother. I mean this is, this (inaudible) he was, he
was uh, ya know he's the one who gave me all the confidence it's no
problem (inaudible) and fuck, I understand what he did, but I mean
he's still my son-in-law's brother."

A few days later, on Aug. 21, Faisal Rishad and Richie Mishal travel
to Buffalo to meet with Huey Stevens in person and talk about Russo's
arrest, the seizure of the ephedrine and whether more loads can be
smuggled. The DEA wiretaps suggest the trip doesn't go well.

"It appears that Richie Mishal and Faisal Rashid no longer trust Hugh
Stevens to do the smuggling," DEA agent Bernard Sabonis says in his
affidavit.

But police prpbably were unconcerned about the Buffalo meeting.
Because after hearing taping the conversation between Bruneau and
Stevens, police believe there's a chance a witness - Russo - could be
killed. Now police make plans to bring an end to what would be known
two weeks later as Operation Brain Drain.

WINNIPEG, LAC DU BONNET, HANNA, THUNDER BAY, BUFFALO, SACRAMENTO

Police move in at dawn Sept. 15, 2004, surprising suspects in their
sleep.

Officers, some in combat gear and armed with automatic weapons and
others in "raid" jackets, hit the homes and businesses of every
target, including Rodger Bruneau's gyms in Lac Du Bonnet and on
McPhillips Street in Winnipeg and the Pumpuii operation in Thunder
Bay.

In a matter of minutes, more than a year's work comes to a dramatic
conclusion. The DEA calls it Brain Drain; north of the border the RCMP
call it Operation Diversion.

The numbers are staggering.

There are more than 90 arrests in both countries -- 17 in Canada, with
10 of them in Manitoba.

Police say 92.5 pounds of meth was seized along with 2,735 lbs of
ephedrine powder and nearly 1.7 million ephedrine pills. Two pounds of
cocaine, 62 lbs of precursor chemicals used to make methamphetamine,
five gallons of meth solution, 27 weapons, 11 vehicles, two large
clandestine meth labs and 3.5 million in Canadian currency, mostly in
100s, 50s and 20s, are also seized in both countries.

Most of the cash is found in a Winnipeg storage locker. As well, two
handguns are seized in a Winnipeg home, two submachine-guns are taken
in British Columbia and another two firearms are found in a Sacramento
storage locker.

RCMP Insp. Dennis McGuffin alleges the ring smuggled enough ephedrine
into the U.S. to produce an estimated $100 million CDN worth of
methamphetamine in clandestine drug labs a year.

"Manitoba was the centre of distribution," McGuffin says during a
Sept. 16, 2004 news conference at Winnipeg RCMP headquarters in which
cash and seized ephedrine are put on display under armed guard.

"We believe this was one of the major distribution networks in Canada,
if not all of North America."

Both the DEA and RCMP decline to comment at the time about Health
Canada's role in this affair, and whether the federal agency had done
anything at all to monitor Pumpuii or Bruneau.

Police also decline to talk about the possible role of the Hells
Angels outlaw motorcycle gang. However, a week after the raids, a DEA
news release says some of the ephedrine purchased by Bruneau from
Pumpuii was distributed to the Canadian Hells Angels and
Canadian-based Asian gangs.

A second release, from the American federal Office of National Drug
Control Policy, said two-thirds of the ephedrine went to an outlaw
motorcycle club in Canada and one-third to Sacramento.

Within hours of the raids, Rodger Bruneau was in custody. So was
Richie Mishal, Faisal Rashid, Hugh Stevens and Pumpuii owner Donald
Sacino. Bruneau's sister, Pam Molner, brother Audrey Bruneau and
Rodger Jr. Bruneau were also arrested. So was Rodger Sr.'s common-law
wife, Leah Dyke.

Police also laid an additional charge against Dyke and Rodger Sr. -
possession of an anabolic steroid for the purpose of
trafficking.

In Hanna, police said they found two 25-kilogram bags of powdered
ephedrine and 13 empty pharmaceutical industry barrels used to
transport the substance.

"For someone in a small rural community, there is no legitimate reason
for someone to have large quantities of these substances," said Cpl.
Wayne Oakes, an RCMP spokesman in Edmonton.

In California, Mishal remains behind bars in pre-trial detention at
the Sacramento County Main Jail.

In an interview with the Sacramento Bee last year, Mishal claimed he
was set up because he's an Arab American. He said people were jealous
of his success in the business of fitness.

Faisal Rashid, 31, also remains in custody at the Sacramento County
Main Jail. Bail was denied because during a DEA search Sept. 17, 2004
at a storage unit rented in his name, police found a "boxed
methamphetamine laboratory." Court documents say it included 115
pounds of suspected ephedrine tablets, about 16 pounds of red
phosphorus and about 46 pounds of iodine crystals -- all precursor
chemicals to cook meth. Two heating mantels, reaction flasks, beakers,
power controllers and other equipment used to make meth were also seized.

The glassware was wrapped up in pages of The Buffalo News several days
earlier and corresponding to Hugh Stevens' last documented shipment of
ephedrine to Mishal.

Agents also found in the locker two firearms; a semi-automatic Chinese
SKS 7.62x39 calibre rifle with folding stock and bayonet and a fully
automatic Olympic Arms .223 calibre rifle.

Bruneau's sister Pam Molner is jointly charged with Mishal and Rashid.
She was arrested in Florida and released on $100,000 bail.

Stevens remains in custody at the Niagara County Jail in Lockport,
N.Y.

In the past year he's applied, finally, for full U.S. citizenship. The
prosecution alleges that if Stevens doesn't get citizenship, he risks
being deported if convicted. Bail was denied because of the alleged
death threat, captured on the phone conversation with Rodger Bruneau,
against Louis Russo.

In Winnipeg, Bruneau got bail Sept. 29; his son said he lost about 20
pounds while in detention. , the Crown allowed him to leave Manitoba
to live with Leah Dyke, his common-law wife, at their home in Tappen,
near Salmon Arm, B.C. and not far from his trans Canada Fitness gym in
Revelstoke.

Sacino was in jail for about five days before he got bail for criminal
charges he still barely understands.

"RCMP showed up at my house at asked me if I wanted a lawyer," he
said. "I said, "What for?'"

To the best of his knowledge, he was charged because "my name is on
the bottles" of some of the seized ephedrine put on display by RCMP
after the raids.

The charges against those arrested in the operations are lengthy and
serious, with the conspiracy to traffic offences carrying a mandatory
minimum 10-year prison term in the U.S. Those convicted in Canada
likely face easier sentences.

in California, New York and identify Bruneau as the ringleader, the
New York charge claiming he engaged in a continuing criminal
enterprise to funnel ephedrine into the U.S. to make
methamphetamine.

In Manitoba, police searched suspects' homes and businesses, seized
their vehicles and placed liens on their properties worth $14.7
million U.S., including the gym in Lac Du Bonnet. Officers also seized
Bruneau's two Vipers, one in Manitoba, the other in Houston, Texas.
Bruneau had the green 1995 sports car there for after-market custom
engine and body work.

In total, 10 Manitobans were charged with conspiracy to produce
methamphetamine. One man was also charged with firearm offences.

In Winnipeg, the Trans Canada Fitness gym continued operating after
the raids, but it suddenly closed overnight Nov. 5 without
explanation.

RCMP also revealed that the alleged smuggling ring extended into
British Columbia, where police seized 16 barrels of ephedrine the same
month Louis Russo was stopped at the Queenston-Lewiston bridge.

The charges against all in Canada and the U.S. remain before the
courts. All except one.

LAC DU BONNET

For all his sins, Rodger Bruneau tried to be a good father and -
perhaps only when it suited him - a good person.

In an interview earlier this year in his Rodger Bruneau Jr. talsk
about his dad, how hard he tried to get his son invloved in running
his gyms.

"He used to offer people free memberships if they could get me to work
out,'' said Rodger Jr. "He was trying to teach me the concerp of work,
the value of a dollar.''

But his father's greatest gift came in the form of some
advice.

When Rodger Jr.'s girlfriend Amber became pregnant last year, the
couple considered an abortion. His dad would have none of it.

"He talked us out of it and we went ahead with the
pregnancy.''

The couple's son, and Rodger Sr.'s first grandson, Rodger III,
celebrated his bithday Nov. 16. They're now awaiting the birth of
their second child.

"If it wasn't for my dad, we wouldn't have him,'' says Rodger Jr., as
his infant son plays on the floor of their home.

The little boy will never know his grandfather.On Valentine's Day,
2005, Rodger Bruneau's common-law wife, Leah Dyke, found Bruneau naked
on his bed. Dead.

At the time, he was a man under a microscope. And, those closest to
him would say, a beaten man.

Police had seized his expensive cars. They'd raided his houses and
businesses. The government had frozen all his assets, and planned to
take everything he owned from him if he was convicted.

Near his body, RCMP found a box that once contained five Duragesic
fentanyl transdermal patches, which are used to treat extreme pain.

Two patches were remaining. No patches were found on Bruneau's body
and there was no evidence a pain patch had recently been removed. No
used patches were found.

There were no indications of trauma to the body or foul play, and no
suicide note was found.The B.C. Coroners Service determined in a
report dated Aug. 25 that Bruneau died with a toxic level of fentanyl
and codeine in his system.

The coroner's verdict? Bruneau simply medicated himself to
death.

He was buried Feb. 21, 2005 in the family grave plot following a
simple service at the Notre Dame Du Lac Roman Catholic Church in Lac
Du Bonnet.

He has a simple headstone, an empty container of Omni Sport Nutrition
100 per cent chocolate whey protein - his brand - with some plastic
flowers shoved inside. He's buried not far from his Trans Canada
Fitness gym.

For his funeral, the Crown consented to a bail variation so one of his
close friends, also a co-accused, could be a pallbearer. His sister
Pam Molner couldn't be at the service; her legal troubles and
immigration status prevented her from coming across the border.

Brother Mike says after his arrest, Bruneau stopped
caring.

"He stopped looking after himself," Mike says. "His success did not
need methamphetamine. It makes no sense at all."

Rodger Jr. says the allegations against his dad killed
him.

"He knew he was going to go," he says, watching his own son play with
infant toys on the floor. "He was struggling every day until he found
peace.

"I'm kind of happy he died. Now he doesn't have to
suffer."

*SIDEBAR*

What is methamphetamine?

Known by various street names including 'speed,' 'meth,' 'crystal
meth' and 'chalk,' methamphetamine is a white, odourless,
bitter-tasting crystalline powder that readily dissolves in water or
alcohol.

It can be snorted, swallowed, injected or smoked.

In its smokable form it is referred to as, 'ice,' 'crank,' 'crystal,'
'glass' or 'tina' because of its transparent, sheet-like crystals, and
is smoked in a pipe like crack cocaine. The smoke is odourless and
leaves a residue that may be resmoked.

Methamphetamine is easy to make, with readily available ingredients.
Police say it can be made in small labs or even on a kitchen counter
by combining ephedrine with common chemicals, farm fertilizer
anhydrous ammonia, lithium metal (batteries) or red phosphorus (used
in matchbook strikers and flares) and iodine.

IT IS HIGHLY ADDICTIVE.

- -- Source: Health Canada/staff