FEDERAL BUST CLOSES HIGHER SOURCE SHOP

Federal agents arrested two Eugene glass artists and seized six local
properties Monday as part of a nationwide crackdown on sales of drug
paraphernalia over the Internet.

Jason Robert Harris and Saeed Mohtadi, both 32, were being held in the Lane
County Jail. They face federal charges of conspiracy to sell and offering
to sell drug paraphernalia such as bongs, pipes and other accessories. Each
charge carries a possible three years in prison and $250,000 fine.

Harris and Mohtadi are accused of operating a national distribution company
for drug paraphernalia via two Web sites. Both sites offer for sale
hand-blown glass pipes by Jerome Baker Designs, a Eugene-based company of
which Harris is president.

Harris' attorney did not immediately return calls for comment Monday. It
was unknown whether Mohtadi had an attorney.

Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Drug Enforcement Administration
indicted more than 50 people on Monday on charges of trafficking in illegal
drug paraphernalia.

The charges were the culmination of two nationwide investigations, dubbed
Operation Pipe Dreams and Operation Headhunter.

"With the advent of the Internet, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry
has exploded," Ashcroft said in a written statement. "Quite simply, the
illegal drug paraphernalia industry has invaded the homes of families
across the country without their knowledge. This illegal billion-dollar
industry will no longer be ignored by law enforcement."

Federal law defines drug paraphernalia as products intended or designed to
be used in ingesting, inhaling or otherwise using controlled substances.

Harris and Mohtadi's Web sites call their merchandise "incense burners" but
the whimsical and colorful glass creations resemble marijuana water bongs
and pipes used to smoke drugs.

Also Monday, DEA agents seized five Eugene properties belonging to Harris,
including the Higher Source headshop at 133 E. 13th Ave., the shop next
door at 135 E. 13th Ave., two buildings housing Jerome Baker Designs at
1868 and 1870 Kintyre St., the Universal Glass company run by Harris and
Mohtadi at 55 N. Seneca St., and Harris' home at 1621 Fircrest Drive.

Agents spent Monday afternoon emptying Higher Source of merchandise and
loading it into a rented moving truck.

They left a copy of the federal search warrant posted on the glass door.
The warrant indicated agents also seized bank accounts at Centennial Bank
and Bank of America. A handmade sign taped to the glass read CLOSED. Many
who stopped by the shop Monday grumbled about the bust.

Ashcroft, however, trumpeted the dual operations as "decisive steps to
dismantle the illegal drug paraphernalia industry by attacking their
physical, financial and Internet infrastructures."

"People selling drug paraphernalia are in essence no different than drug
dealers," the DEA acting Administrator John Brown III said. "They're as
much a part of drug trafficking as silencers are a part of criminal homicide."

Officials were working to shut down 11 Internet sites, including the two
run by Harris and Mohtadi. Harris' legitimate glass artwork has been
featured at the Alder Gallery in downtown Coburg, and both men were
involved with the Eugene Glass School.