Military pilot arrested for Ecstasy smuggling (Reuters)

[Up2Late]

(these guys need to leave the drug smuggling to the CIA)

Military pilot arrested for Ecstasy smuggling

Wed Apr 13, 2005 08:21 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. Air National Guard pilot and a crew member have been arrested for using official military missions to smuggle millions of dollars worth Ecstasy into the United States, federal authorities said on Wednesday. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Christopher Giovino, who heads the New York organized drug enforcement strike force, said the arrests were part of a long-term, ongoing investigation. He described the men as transporters in a bigger conspiracy but said he could not provide any other details.

Capt. Franklin Rodriguez, a pilot of the U.S. Air Force C-5A "Galaxy" cargo aircraft, and Master Sgt. John Fong, in charge of loading and unloading cargo, were arrested on Tuesday and expected to be presented in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday night. Officials said some 290,000 Ecstasy pills were found in the defendants' luggage upon their return to the United States. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration Web site, an Ecstasy tablet typically sells between $20 and $30 on the street and its value can be as high as $40.

During questioning by law enforcement authorities, the men admitted to authorities that they had also transported Ecstasy on previous military flights, the complaint stated. The men are charged with one count of conspiracy to import Ecstasy into the United States and one count of conspiracy to distribute the drug. If convicted, the two men face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine on each count.

According to the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Rodriguez was the pilot and Fong was the loadmaster on a U.S. Air Force C-5A aircraft last week from the Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York, on an official mission to deliver training supplies to the Republic of Georgia.

(more at link above)

[MADem]

1. Shades of Vietnam....

This went on all the time in the Services back then. It's when MWD* (as opposed to WMD) came into vogue....

*MWD = military working dogs!

[saigon68]

13. It was Brown Rock Heroin in Laos

Moved by the CIA's private airline "Air America"


http://www.serendipity.li/cia/blum1.html



1950s to early 1970s, INDOCHINA

During U.S. military involvement in Laos and other parts of Indochina, Air America flew opium and heroin throughout the area. Many GI's in Vietnam became addicts. A laboratory built at CIA headquarters in northern Laos was used to refine heroin. After a decade of American military intervention, Southeast Asia had become the source of 70 percent of the world's illicit opium and the major supplier of raw materials for America's booming heroin market.

[MADem]

16. And don't forget

thai stick by USN vessel! Found stashed in the overheads in warships round the world....!

[ElsewheresDaughter]

2. didn't i read somewhere that the US military was giving Estasy to GI's in

Iraq to enhance performance?...and fight depression due to retention?

[Up2Late]

3. I seem to remember something like that...

This must be why * considers the President of Georgia, such a Goooooood:loveya: Friend.:crazy: :silly:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

6. US soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan given Ecstasy to help with stress...links

The United States government has found a new way of recruiting soldiers for the Iraq war: It's offering them ecstasy. The trick is, the soldiers only ...
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,342290,00.html
Ecstasy on the Battlefield

Ecstasy is the drug of choice for the Pentagon. Soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder are to be given the drug as a therapy aid. Also, instead of video games based on war, the US may soon be fighting wars based on video games with robot soldiers. And, the Vikings are at the gates of the German government.

Where Do We Sign Up?

DPA
Look what Uncle Sam is offering now!
The United States government has found a new way of recruiting soldiers for the Iraq war: It's offering them ecstasy. The trick is, the soldiers only get the free drugs after they have seen enough fighting to be experiencing flashbacks, recurring nightmares and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The usually tough-to-please US Food and Drug Administration has given the experimental treatments an initial go ahead and scientists in South Carolina have quickly gotten to work. The idea is to take advantage of the touchy-feely effect ecstasy (the "happiness drug") has on people to get soldiers to open up about the trauma they have faced. In other news, the US government spends $20 billion a year on the drug war.

Chemically, ecstasy is known as MDMA and in the trials soldiers are given either the drug or a placebo and then undergo eight-hour therapy sessions during which music is played and they are encouraged to talk about their horrifying experiences. Although still in its early phase, scientists insist the results are quite positive. The team's leader is Dr. Michael Mithoefer, a South Carolina psychiatrist and longtime campaigner for the use of ecstasy in science. Mithoefer has already given ecstasy to patients who were the victims of violent crimes, including rape, and insists on the drug's positive effects in helping them to talk about and come to terms with what happened to them. There is, he says, even some evidence that ecstasy can reduce tremors in Parkinson's patients. Possibly a whole new take on the 1972 David Peel song "The Pope Smokes Dope." (2:35 p.m. CET)


SocietyGuardian.co.uk | Society | Ecstasy trials for combat stress
... in Iraq and Afghanistan are to be offered the drug ecstasy to help free ...US administration has given the go-ahead for the soldiers to be included in an ...
www.society.guardian.co.uk/drugsandalcohol/story/0,8150,1416150,00.html


Sensible Election | Ecstasy trials for combat stress
in Iraq and Afghanistan are to be offered the drug ecstasy to help free them ...
Culturally soldiers, and certain ethnic backgrounds have resistance to talk ...
http://sensibleelection.com/entry.php/1549




UNITED STATES: Traumatised soldiers to be given ecstasy
... who have served in Iraq, to test if MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy,... In the trial, soldiers take the equivalent of an ecstasy tablet at the ...
www.greenleft.org.au/back/2005/616/616p18h.htm

[Up2Late]

9. Thanks for all those links, but now here's what pisses me off...

...and I could be completely wrong on this, But, it looks like, our Government is busting these pilots, who are probably under paid for the work they do, then turning around and using this confiscated X to treat PTSD and other major mental problems, at the UNDER FUNDED VA Hospitals!:banghead::mad: Man, do I hate these pricks in the WH.:grr:

[TexasLawyer]

4. bigger conspiracy

The men arrested were "transporters in a bigger conspiracy but said he could not provide any other details."


Should be interesting, since this was clearly not a penny-ante deal.

[0007]

5. Hmmmm. Why does Bernard Kerik come to mind?

[Laughing Mirror]

11. Yes. Why won't these "authorities" cited in article name the paymasters

that is, the people in charge of this. Why are they putting it all on Rodriguez and Fong, who are just the transporters?

Who are they protecting?

[wookie294]

7. I've done alot of ecstasy. It's not bad for you. Stop the hysteria

Ecstasy trials for combat stress

David Adam, science correspondent
Thursday February 17, 2005
The Guardian

American soldiers traumatised by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are to be offered the drug ecstasy to help free them of flashbacks and recurring nightmares.

The US food and drug administration has given the go-ahead for the soldiers to be included in an experiment to see if MDMA, the active ingredient in ecstasy, can treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

Scientists behind the trial in South Carolina think the feelings of emotional closeness reported by those taking the drug could help the soldiers talk about their experiences to therapists. Several victims of rape and sexual abuse with post-traumatic stress disorder, for whom existing treatments are ineffective, have been given MDMA since the research began last year.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1416073,00.html

[Voltaire99]

10. Is ecstasy your favorite drug?

And how would you describe your experiences with it?

Curious, that's all. :-)

[Chico Man]

15. Euphoric

Life changing, and simply unbelievable.

Just make sure you are in a good place, test the pills to make sure they are real, and enjoy :)

[Zerex71]

8. Support the Drug Dealers!

[hector459]

12. We are a nation out of control and in disarray.

All this, while the "adults are in charge."
Just think about what the "adults" have brought to us and where they have taken this nation.

[Stuckinthebush]

14. We've been out of control for a very long time

We are arrogant and our values are misplaced.

[emad]

17. US airmen held over Ecstasy haul

BBC
Two US military airmen are being held on charges of smuggling millions of dollars worth of Ecstasy into the country, federal officials have said.

Capt Franklin Rodriguez, 36, an Air National Guard pilot, and Master Sgt John Fong, 35, were arrested on Tuesday on return from a mission in Europe.

Both men admitted during interviews to bringing the drugs from Germany on several occasions, the officials added.

They face a maximum of 20 years in jail and a $1m fine.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4444285.stm

[sniffa]

18. noooo

they just got more expensive. :cry: