U.S. Attorney David Dugas announced Wednesday that several Baton Rouge-area residents were arrested in what he described as the first significant ecstasy tablet-making ring in North America.
The Ecstasy bust was known as “Operation Candy Box” among international drug trafficking officials. U.S. and Canadian authorities conducted the investigation, which resulted in arrests in 18 cities — including Baton Rouge and New Orleans — in the United States and three cities in Canada.
In previous large ecstasy busts, tablets were made outside North America — primarily in The Netherlands.
Ecstasy — the common name for the synthetic drug 3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA — is a “club drug” that can cause hypothermia, physical, mental and emotional injury, Dugas said.
Individuals arrested by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials in the Baton Rouge area include Dung Duc Bui, 28, of 8711 Coy Ave., Apartment A; Trong Lousteau Nguyen, 18, of 14726 Jester Ave.; Thanh Thai Tran, 26, of 3918 Sherwood St.; and Cau Tuyet Tran, 22, of 17340 John Broussard in Prairieville.
On a national level, agents collected more than 500,000 ecstasy tablets and $3 million over a two-year period.
In the Baton Rouge investigation — dubbed “Operation Lucky Charms” — 20,000 tablets were collected since 2003.
Dugas said the cost to make one ecstasy tablet was 25 to 50 cents. At the distribution level — the level at which federal agents purchased tablets during the investigation — pills sold for $10 each.
Sellers who bought from distributors then could sell the tablets for $25 to $40 in clubs.
The U.S. DEA estimates this ring accounted for 15 percent of ecstasy consumed in the United States by supplying 1 million tablets a month. These tablets accounted for $5 million a month.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana coordinated “Operation Lucky Charms.”