OKLAHOMA, FEDERAL AUTHORITIES TARGET METH

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Six wholesale distributors of pseudoephedrine -- a
key ingredient in methamphetamine -- were named Wednesday in a civil
lawsuit filed by the state. One of the wholesalers, Thinh Quoc Kieu, also
was hit with a three-count federal indictment.

Kieu was accused of two methamphetamine-related offenses and of selling
phony tobacco tax stamps, said U.S. Attorney Robert McCampbell.

McCampbell said Oklahoma County ranks No. 1 in the nation in the number of
meth labs and the state as a whole is in the top four in per capita meth use.

The six wholesalers named in the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Drew
Edmondson operate in the Oklahoma City area and are among 35
pseudoephedrine wholesalers registered statewide with the Drug Enforcement
Agency.

Pseudoephedrine is legally sold as an ingredient in over-the-counter cold
medications.

The idea for the lawsuit developed after the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics
and Dangerous Drugs Control took evidence against the companies to the
attorney general.

Malcolm J. Atwood, director of the state drug enforcement agency, said
about 4,100 methamphetamine labs were seized statewide in Oklahoma from
1996 through June 2002.

The lawsuit accuses the wholesalers of civil conspiracy, negligence and
creating a public nuisance by selling large amounts of pseudoephedrine that
ended up in illegal meth labs.

It also allows violations of the Oklahoma Corrupt Organizations Prevention
Act, the state's equivalent to the federal RICO Act.

In addition to Kieu, the suit named Moore Services Inc. of Midwest City,
and Beck Services, Sun Distributing, Stevens Wholesale and Anna Wholesale,
all of Oklahoma City.

"This is the first state action of its kind in Oklahoma and perhaps the
nation," Edmondson said. "While the attorney general does not have the
direct prosecution authority of our district attorneys, we can pursue the
raw ingredient suppliers for creating a public nuisance and under the
Corrupt Organizations Prevention Act."

The lawsuit alleges that Beck Services sold more than 5.6 million tablets
of pseudoephedrine to Oklahoma purchasers during the first seven months of
the year, while Moore Services sold 1.3 million tablets.

Beck and Moore were accused of splitting invoices as a ploy to allow
customers to buy large quantities of the drug without appearing suspicious
to law enforcement.

The federal indictment against Kieu accuses the businessman of offering to
sell almost two pounds of methamphetamine to an undercover agent.

It said Kieu sold 50,000 tablets of pseudoephedrine to an agent while
having reasonable cause to believe the substance would be used to make
meth. It said he also sold 30,000 counterfeited Texas state tobacco tax
stamps for $5,000.