Arrests target sellers of drug ingredients

Lee Scrivner

Friday, June 23, 2000 | 10:53 a.m.

Five people were arrested Thursday on charges of selling ingredients used to make the illegal drug methamphetamine.

A sixth person is being sought in connection with federal warrants that were unsealed Wednesday.

"The (warrants) allege that some of these people sold up to 218 bottles of pseudoephedrine at a time to undercover agents," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Ko.

Pseudoephedrine is a legal, over-the-counter nasal decongestant. In large quantities, pseudoephedrine is often used to make methamphetamine.

Arrested were:

The arrests came less than a month after a new program was instituted in Southern Nevada by Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association to curb methamphetamine production from common cold, allergy, or asthma medicines.

The program involved distribution of informational posters to 1,800 Nevada retailers, urging them and their staff to notify authorities if customers purchase suspicious quantities of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.

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