Traffickers raked in millions
By Daily Press staff
LOS ANGELES — An international undercover operation involving the Santa Monica Police Department announced this week the arrest of 13 defend a n t s allegedly involved in importing millions of doses of the club drug known as “Ecstasy” into the U n i t e d States.
Through Operation Money Man, authorities have seized more than 300,000 doses of Ecstasy (or MDMA) worth an estimated street value of close to $7 million.
The task force — which also included the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Austrian and Czech authorities — capped a two-year investigation into the European drug ring with five arrests this week, including the apprehension of one Santa M o n i c a man.
Bohumil Chudoba, 62, of Santa M o n i c a, was arrested after deliv-e r i n g a p p r o x i - m a t e l y 1 6 0, 0 0 0 E c s t a s y tablets to an undercover officer. Each of the 13 individuals arrested in the sting operation are accused of being part of an international coalition that trafficked the illegal drug and laundered the profits.
According to criminal complaints, the investigation began in March of 2002 when ICE agents learned that a group comprised primarily of Israeli nationals were trafficking Ecstasy into the Los Angeles region.
Investigators believe the ring shipped in excess of seven million tablets from the Czech Republic into the United States, Australia, Poland and Russia over the past year alone.
“These criminals trafficked Ecstasy and laundered their profits through bank fraud and real estate transactions,” said Michael J. Garcia, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “This investigation demonstrates the global reach of federal law enforcement to take drugs off the street and seize the profits from these criminal networks.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 17, 2004. Read the original PDF.