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| Arrest Opens Window on China’s Role in Designer Drug Market | Arrest Opens Window on China’s Role in Designer Drug Market |
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| MILWAUKEE — Scores of travelers streamed through Los Angeles International Airport in March, just off a flight from China. But one passenger, a 33-year-old Chinese chemist, never reached baggage claim. | MILWAUKEE — Scores of travelers streamed through Los Angeles International Airport in March, just off a flight from China. But one passenger, a 33-year-old Chinese chemist, never reached baggage claim. |
| The passenger, Haijun Tian, was arrested at the airport by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, the prize at the end of an elaborate sting operation aimed at stemming the importation and sale of spice, the street name for a family of synthetic drugs that look like marijuana and are sprayed with a dangerous hallucinogenic chemical, then smoked. | The passenger, Haijun Tian, was arrested at the airport by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, the prize at the end of an elaborate sting operation aimed at stemming the importation and sale of spice, the street name for a family of synthetic drugs that look like marijuana and are sprayed with a dangerous hallucinogenic chemical, then smoked. |
| Mr. Tian is a leading manufacturer and exporter of the chemicals used to create spice, the D.E.A. says, and his arrest underscores rising concerns that China, with its large and poorly regulated pharmaceutical sector, could become to spice what Colombia or Peru has been for cocaine, or Afghanistan is to heroin. | Mr. Tian is a leading manufacturer and exporter of the chemicals used to create spice, the D.E.A. says, and his arrest underscores rising concerns that China, with its large and poorly regulated pharmaceutical sector, could become to spice what Colombia or Peru has been for cocaine, or Afghanistan is to heroin. |
| Law enforcement officials hope that information gathered from Mr. Tian will provide a window into the drug’s hazy international underworld, where manufacturers readily tweak chemicals used to make spice and other so-called designer drugs, staying one step ahead of federal regulators scrambling to identify and outlaw them. | Law enforcement officials hope that information gathered from Mr. Tian will provide a window into the drug’s hazy international underworld, where manufacturers readily tweak chemicals used to make spice and other so-called designer drugs, staying one step ahead of federal regulators scrambling to identify and outlaw them. |
| “There’s an illusion of legality,” said Scott Albrecht, a special agent in the D.E.A.’s Milwaukee district office, who supervised the investigation of Mr. Tian after the agents linked him to packages shipped to an address here. “We make one thing illegal, and they just move on to the next one.” | “There’s an illusion of legality,” said Scott Albrecht, a special agent in the D.E.A.’s Milwaukee district office, who supervised the investigation of Mr. Tian after the agents linked him to packages shipped to an address here. “We make one thing illegal, and they just move on to the next one.” |
| Mr. Tian’s case is particularly significant not only because the D.E.A. considers him a major spice exporter, but also because Chinese manufacturers of synthetic drugs so rarely come to the United States. But Mr. Tian traveled to Los Angeles after a major customer of his became a confidential informant for the D.E.A. The informant, who has not been identified, told investigators that about 70 percent of the spice sold in the United States was made from chemicals originating in Mr. Tian’s Chinese laboratory. The location of that lab has not been disclosed. | Mr. Tian’s case is particularly significant not only because the D.E.A. considers him a major spice exporter, but also because Chinese manufacturers of synthetic drugs so rarely come to the United States. But Mr. Tian traveled to Los Angeles after a major customer of his became a confidential informant for the D.E.A. The informant, who has not been identified, told investigators that about 70 percent of the spice sold in the United States was made from chemicals originating in Mr. Tian’s Chinese laboratory. The location of that lab has not been disclosed. |
| D.E.A. officials said in a statement on Thursday that China’s Ministry of Public Security had initiated its own investigation into Mr. Tian, his associates and relevant companies. “The D.E.A. and M.P.S. continue to exchange information in this joint investigation into the manufacturing and trafficking of synthetic cannabinoid compounds and other dangerous drugs,” the statement said. | |
| Lawyers for Mr. Tian declined to comment on the case before his trial, scheduled to begin in federal court in Milwaukee in July. | Lawyers for Mr. Tian declined to comment on the case before his trial, scheduled to begin in federal court in Milwaukee in July. |
| Although the use of spice has decreased in recent years, according to some surveys, the drug continues to be sold by street dealers, as well as openly on the Internet and at smoke shops and other retailers, as potpourri or incense with brand names like Scooby Snax and Black Diamond. | Although the use of spice has decreased in recent years, according to some surveys, the drug continues to be sold by street dealers, as well as openly on the Internet and at smoke shops and other retailers, as potpourri or incense with brand names like Scooby Snax and Black Diamond. |
| Spice’s health effects have been underscored in recent months by a surge in emergency-room visits and calls to poison centers, for symptoms that can include extreme anxiety, violent behavior and delusions. Intermittent reports from several states suggest that at least 1,000 Americans have died since 2009 after smoking spice. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not track national data for spice or other synthetic drugs, including those popularly known as bath salts or flakka. | Spice’s health effects have been underscored in recent months by a surge in emergency-room visits and calls to poison centers, for symptoms that can include extreme anxiety, violent behavior and delusions. Intermittent reports from several states suggest that at least 1,000 Americans have died since 2009 after smoking spice. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not track national data for spice or other synthetic drugs, including those popularly known as bath salts or flakka. |
| “There’s a constant influx of these new designer drugs, and toxicology tests can’t keep up,” said Ron Flegel, a forensic toxicologist at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “You can tell someone’s level of oxycodone intake, but often not the synthetics.” | “There’s a constant influx of these new designer drugs, and toxicology tests can’t keep up,” said Ron Flegel, a forensic toxicologist at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “You can tell someone’s level of oxycodone intake, but often not the synthetics.” |
| Once created in Chinese labs, spice chemicals are shipped in powdered form, in packages labeled fertilizer or industrial solvents, through commercial couriers to wholesalers in the United States. Those wholesalers liquefy the powder in acetone or alcohol, apply the liquid to a smokable plant material and package the mix in metallic pouches. | Once created in Chinese labs, spice chemicals are shipped in powdered form, in packages labeled fertilizer or industrial solvents, through commercial couriers to wholesalers in the United States. Those wholesalers liquefy the powder in acetone or alcohol, apply the liquid to a smokable plant material and package the mix in metallic pouches. |
| Spice producers have been known to mix the concoction in animal feed troughs, hand-cranked cement mixers and on backyard tarps. The packaged product, often coyly labeled “Not for human consumption,” undergoes no safety testing, and has been found to be contaminated with other chemicals, mold or fungus. | Spice producers have been known to mix the concoction in animal feed troughs, hand-cranked cement mixers and on backyard tarps. The packaged product, often coyly labeled “Not for human consumption,” undergoes no safety testing, and has been found to be contaminated with other chemicals, mold or fungus. |
| The ease with which synthetic-drug manufacturers modify their chemicals’ molecular form presents a distinct challenge to law enforcement officials. Federal law forbids these slight variations of controlled substances, called analogues, but with more than 400 varieties of chemical cannabinoids available, D.E.A. officials said, and new ones appearing weekly, prosecutors have found cases difficult to prove. | The ease with which synthetic-drug manufacturers modify their chemicals’ molecular form presents a distinct challenge to law enforcement officials. Federal law forbids these slight variations of controlled substances, called analogues, but with more than 400 varieties of chemical cannabinoids available, D.E.A. officials said, and new ones appearing weekly, prosecutors have found cases difficult to prove. |
| “Cocaine is illegal once you put it on the table,” Mr. Albrecht said. “Here, it’s a different type of trafficker — they look you in the eye across the table and tell you why their stuff is legal, instead of trying to tell you why it wasn’t them.” | “Cocaine is illegal once you put it on the table,” Mr. Albrecht said. “Here, it’s a different type of trafficker — they look you in the eye across the table and tell you why their stuff is legal, instead of trying to tell you why it wasn’t them.” |
| Having been unable to prosecute Chinese citizens known to create and export spice, American officials have focused instead on pursuing wholesale customers in this country. Since the beginning of last year, according to the D.E.A., these operations resulted in the seizure of 19 tons of packaged spice and the raw material to create five more tons, with a combined street value they estimate is in the hundreds of millions of dollars. | Having been unable to prosecute Chinese citizens known to create and export spice, American officials have focused instead on pursuing wholesale customers in this country. Since the beginning of last year, according to the D.E.A., these operations resulted in the seizure of 19 tons of packaged spice and the raw material to create five more tons, with a combined street value they estimate is in the hundreds of millions of dollars. |
| Earlier this year, a wholesaler in Los Angeles with ties to China pleaded guilty to federal drug-trafficking charges for his role in selling spice branded as Stoopid, Platinum and Black Diamond. | Earlier this year, a wholesaler in Los Angeles with ties to China pleaded guilty to federal drug-trafficking charges for his role in selling spice branded as Stoopid, Platinum and Black Diamond. |
| These investigations and others led D.E.A. officials up the distribution chain to a major United States-based importer of Mr. Tian’s chemicals who then manufactured the smokable product. After that importer was arrested, he agreed to become an informant. | These investigations and others led D.E.A. officials up the distribution chain to a major United States-based importer of Mr. Tian’s chemicals who then manufactured the smokable product. After that importer was arrested, he agreed to become an informant. |
| At the D.E.A.’s direction, the informant arranged by email to purchase AB-Fubinaca from Mr. Tian after the D.E.A. added it to its list of controlled substances. AB-Fubinaca is a hallucinogenic chemical applied to plant material in the manufacture of spice. | At the D.E.A.’s direction, the informant arranged by email to purchase AB-Fubinaca from Mr. Tian after the D.E.A. added it to its list of controlled substances. AB-Fubinaca is a hallucinogenic chemical applied to plant material in the manufacture of spice. |
| “The U.S. government made ABF illegal a few days ago, but I still have a couple of people who want to buy some if the price is good,” the informant wrote in the email. “Do you have any ABF left over? How much would you sell it for?” | “The U.S. government made ABF illegal a few days ago, but I still have a couple of people who want to buy some if the price is good,” the informant wrote in the email. “Do you have any ABF left over? How much would you sell it for?” |
| According to court documents, Mr. Tian replied, “Yes, I have abf now,” and later quoted a price of $900 a kilogram. He later sent two packages of the chemical to an address in Milwaukee, leading to his indictment here. | According to court documents, Mr. Tian replied, “Yes, I have abf now,” and later quoted a price of $900 a kilogram. He later sent two packages of the chemical to an address in Milwaukee, leading to his indictment here. |
| Spice’s link to China often comes as a surprise to the families of the hundreds of young people whose deaths have been attributed to the substance. After Phil Sisneros, 22, died last May after smoking a form of spice, his mother, Elizabeth Manning, checked his laptop and found emails to and from companies in China that suggested that he was buying chemicals directly and making his own. | Spice’s link to China often comes as a surprise to the families of the hundreds of young people whose deaths have been attributed to the substance. After Phil Sisneros, 22, died last May after smoking a form of spice, his mother, Elizabeth Manning, checked his laptop and found emails to and from companies in China that suggested that he was buying chemicals directly and making his own. |
| “He got it just like you’d go online and get a book,” said Ms. Manning, who lives in Albuquerque. “You buy something but you don’t know what it is, and it could be poison.” | “He got it just like you’d go online and get a book,” said Ms. Manning, who lives in Albuquerque. “You buy something but you don’t know what it is, and it could be poison.” |
| As Mr. Tian awaits trial at Kenosha County Jail, one hour north, in Milwaukee, shiny pouches of herbal material continue to be sold at several smoke shops. At one store, when asked for something unquestionably legal, a clerk reached under the counter and retrieved a 10-gram pouch of a “new” potpourri product, Black Diamond. The back of the $48 package said: “This product complies with all federal and state legislation.” | As Mr. Tian awaits trial at Kenosha County Jail, one hour north, in Milwaukee, shiny pouches of herbal material continue to be sold at several smoke shops. At one store, when asked for something unquestionably legal, a clerk reached under the counter and retrieved a 10-gram pouch of a “new” potpourri product, Black Diamond. The back of the $48 package said: “This product complies with all federal and state legislation.” |
| “It’s not for human consumption,” she said. | “It’s not for human consumption,” she said. |