Authorities break up U.S.-Canada drug ring

'Operation Candystore' leads to charges against 18 people. The two-year federal investigation targeted trafficking in ecstasy, marijuana and cocaine.

By Paloma Esquivel, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
1:44 PM PDT, September 30, 2008
An import-export drug-trafficking ring that brought ecstasy and marijuana to the U.S. from Canada and sent cocaine back across the border was broken up this morning following a two-year investigation by federal agencies, prosecutors said.

The ring relied on an intricate network of smugglers and distributors to transport and disperse the drugs in Canada and the U.S., prosecutors said.

Jason I. Ming Wei, 30, a Canadian citizen who lives in Temple City, is accused of overseeing the ring. He was arrested Sunday night at Los Angeles International Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Canada, said U.S. attorney's spokesman Thom Mrozek.

Also charged is Nathanael Garrard Lineham, 39, of Newport Beach, who allegedly used encrypted BlackBerries from a company he runs to conduct the ring's business. Prosecutors say Lineham also provided encrypted phones to associates.

According to the indictment, Lineham sent coded e-mails to arrange shipments of ecstasy across the Canadian border, where it was picked up and driven to Southern California.

A telephone conversation between Lineham and a co-defendant was being recorded last year when he told another defendant he could not be linked to a shipment of ecstasy because his e-mails were encrypted, prosecutors said.

During the investigation, dubbed "Operation Candystore," authorities seized money and drugs, including a 60-kilogram shipment of cocaine and a 35-kilogram shipment of cocaine.

Operation Candystore led to charges against 18 people who face a wide array of charges, including conspiracy to distribute and possess narcotics and money laundering.

In addition to Wei and Lineham, four others were arrested this morning. The other domestic defendants are being sought by authorities.

Officials say they will file provisional arrest warrants against the Canadian defendants in the next few days.

paloma.esquivel@latimes.com

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 0378.story