Case Agent:

Detective Daniel Toulouse

Mesa Police Department
The nuts & bolts approach to
dismantling a chemical and
equipment supply house.
 Performance Objectives
Identifying the various sources of supplies
of chemicals & equipment.
Identify the necessary elements required
in an affidavit in support of a search
warrant as it relates to the seizure of
business records.
Proper protocol for the generation and
dissemination of suspicious chemical
leads.
 Knowing the LAW!

Sale of Precursor or regulated chemicals;

report.

Possession or sale of precursor chemicals,

substances or equipment.

Conspiracy.
Law Example: Arizona State
It shall be unlawful to sell, transfer or
otherwise furnish any precursor chemical,
regulated chemical or other substance
or equipment with knowledge that the
recipient will use the precursor chemical
to unlawfully manufacture a dangerous
drug or narcotic drug.
 OVERVIEW

Investigation of ECSTASY lab

Flagstaff, Arizona
Feb June 2000
 G3 Custom Fabrication
Fictitious Business claiming to manufacture
resins
Operated by three college students attending
NAU
G3 represents the first letter of the last name
of each suspect GARBER, GORDON & GILJUM
Obtained necessary permits, credit cards, etc.
for business to appear legitimate
Chemical and equipment orders delivered to
main residence
 G3 Operation highlights
Approximately 300 grams MDA per cook
lab analysis showed MDA to be 98%
pure
Bulk of product sold in Minneapolis
Remainder sold at Raves in Tucson,
Phoenix & Flagstaff
Chemicals & Equipment worth $20,000
Theoretical street value of MDA lab
capability $32,000,000
 Who are the Suppliers?
Big Chemical Houses
(large distribution and
manufacturers)
Retail Supply
Companies
Small Retail Outlets
(mom & pop)
Foreign Distributors
Internet based
companies
 Non-traditional
Home Improvement
Stores
Pharmacies
Big Box Outlets
Cigarette stores
(Green Backs)
Aromatherapy and
Health Food stores
 What types of chemicals &
equipment do they sell?
Precursor chemicals including List I
and Regulated chemicals (becomes
part of finished product)
Catalysts (initiates chemical reaction)
Reagents (reacts chemically
w/precursor not part of finished
product)
Solvents ( no reaction w/precursor or
reagent - helps mix, cools & cleans)
Essential oils
Glassware
Other equipment
 Identify the significance of the
chemical being ordered
Know your target
drug and what
chemicals &
equipment will be
used or substituted
to manufacture
Methamphetamine
Ecstasy
GHB
PCP
LSD
 Methamphetamine
Red Phosphorus
Iodine
Pseudoephedrine
Hypophosphorus Acid
Potassium Iodide
Acetone
Tincture of Iodine
Sodium Metal
Anhydrous Ammonia
Sulfuric Acid
Other Solvents & Acids
 Ecstasy
Ammonium Acetate
Ammonium Hydroxide
Ammonium Chloride
P-Benzoquinone
Camphor oil 1.070 (Precursor
86% safrole
Calcium Sulfate Anhydrous
Copper Chloride
Dimethylformamide (DMF)
Dichloromethane (DCM)
Dimethoxybenzaldehyde
Hydrochloric Acid
Methylene Chloride
Methylamine
N-Methylammonium Acetate
Palladium Chloride
Paraformaldehyde
Safrole (Precursor)
Sassafras oil (Precursor)
Sodium Cyanoborohydride
Sodium Borohydride
Sodium Sulfate Anhydrous
 GHB
Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB)
Gamma butyrolactone (GBL)
1,4-Butanediol (BD)
Potassium Hydroxide
Sodium Hydroxide
Identifying the chemical supplier
Lab seizure
Lot #s from chemical containers
Company name/logo
Invoices
Phone toll/records
Computers
Informants
Phone book
Internet
Identifying the chemical supplier

State/Federal Regulatory Agency

Has there been an on-site inspection?
De-confliction databases
Reports of seizures, etc.
State & local department files
Wire or Internet intercepts
 Complete a work-up on the
business
Tax records
Commercial Databases (CLEAR, Lexis
Nexus)
Financial Records
Incorporation Documents
Court records
Profit of business
 Complete a work-up on the
owners/employees
Criminal history
Employment check
Commercial Databases
Financial investigation
Salaries, Standing within the company
Incorporation records/business documents
Shipping methods of the company
Established by
surveillance
Seized documents from
the lab site
U/C purchase or Internet
purchase
Subpoena records of
shipping company
UPS
Roadway
Fed-Ex
 Interviews with the shipping company
employees/drivers
Subpoena bank account records
Flag suspect address for notification of
deliveries
Drop shipments
 Preparation of Search Warrant

Whats needed in the affidavit?

Prosecutor
Necessary manpower
Forensic computer analyst
Documents/Records examiners
Chemist
 IRS (money laundering, expertise in
analyzing business records)
Grand Jury indictments prior to execution
of warrant (?)
Execution of Search Warrant
Interviews of employees
Personal & business accounts
Personal & business credit cards
Identify personal & business assets
Identify chemical suppliers
Identify shipping companies used
Identify customer lists
Identify the responsibility and status of each
employee within the business (owner, chemist,
records, etc)
Did they have KNOWLEDGE???
 Evidence collection
Photographs (before search starts) of
business, chemicals and employees
Videotape
Drug/non-drug
Sampling of chemicals by chemist if needed or if
unidentifiable
 Documents
Keep in mind how you will identify these in the future
and where they were found.
Business records
Invoices
Catalogs listing chemicals & equipment sold
Customer lists
Vendors
Tax records (both business & personal)
Shipping records
Any additional storage units where chemicals,
equipment or records may be kept
 Computers
Establish who uses what computer, is it
business or personal, are they connected,
passwords, email accounts, web servers, on-
line order service provider
Imaging of hard drives
Return computers ASAP so the business can still
operate
Fax machines
Phones/cell phones
 Review of Evidence
Computer forensics
business records
Emails
Other correspondence
Records examination lists generated by
searching for target chemicals and other
information defined by parameters
Grand Jury (new or additional charges)
IRS financial work-up
Identifying portion of business, based on sales,
used for illegal purposes
 Generate & Dissemination of
leads
What type of information is needed for
follow-up by other law enforcement
entities
Teletypes or similar notification
Establish contact list and record results for
future court purposes
You want to show bad acts
 Civil Forfeiture
Business
Personal
Off Shore accounts
Real Estate
Vehicles
 The next stepping stone
Your next target may be the supplier of
the supplied!
Possible federal, state and diversion
changes to law/regulations based upon
your discoveries
Science Alliance