(The formatting on this one really looks better on the blog, so you may want to read the post
Joint Investigation Ends in 7 Arrests and Recovery of 670 Tablets of Ecstasy there...)
The City of Seagoville, in partnership with the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office announced the conclusion of a joint two-week investigation that led to the arrest of 6 adults and 1 juvenile as well as the recovery of 670 individual tablets of Ecstasy, a popular street drug. The arrests ranged over 4 counties, with the capture of suspects from Kaufman, Dallas, Tarrant and Henderson counties. Narcotics investigators involved in the case have said they are seeing a rise in ecstasy use by local youth and would like to remind parents and their children that ecstasy is a dangerous stimulant that often proves to be fatal.
From what I can discern, none of the arrests were tied to any activity in Forney, however, I know that many Forney parents are concerned about what drugs might be available in our area and how to keep their children safe, so read on for more information about this case, drug use in Kaufman County and photos of the suspects as well as of ecstasy itself.
The investigation began when Lawrence Oliver Lacour, known as "Ollie", a 20 year old from Dallas, along with Kristina Ford, 17, of Henderson County and Jacob Redman, 18, of Kemp, sold 70 tablets of ecstasy to an undercover officer 50 yards from a high school.
Ollie met with undercover officers a week later and sold them an additional 100 tables of ecstasy and was immediately arrested by officers from the Seagoville Police Department.
The investigation then turned to the suppliers who had been providing the ecstasy to these individuals and undercover officers were able to arrange for the purchase of 500 tablets of ecstasy from Dino Osmanovi, 17, Alen Druzanovic, 22, Dean Graham, 23 and a 16 year old juvenile, all from For Worth. The four individuals contacted the officers on the afternoon of Monday, June 9th and agreed to meet them in Seagoville; an hour later, the four were arrested in the 200 Block of Highway 175 in Seagoville after officers observed 500 tablets of ecstasy in their vehicle.
In addition to the warning from the narcotics investigators involved, Chief Pat Stallings of the Seagoville Police Department warned parents, "these dealers were targeting the youth in our communities".
Lacour's mugshot appears above, and the mugshot of the remaining five adult offenders appear below. All 6 adults are being held on $50,000 bond and the juvenile was taken to Dallas County Juvenile Detention.
The Kaufman County Sheriff's Office also announced the arrest of a 28 year old woman in the city of Kaufman today who was standing under a shade tree on the side of the road in possession of a prescription style bottle containing 43 rocks of crack cocaine. The woman, a Grand Prairie resident, indicated that an individual picked her up in Grand Prairie and drove her to Kaufman for the sole purpose of selling crack. Narcotics investigators from the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office indicated that due to a number of arrests of local dealers, individuals have been coming to our county from surrounding areas such as Dallas and Tarrant counties to sell drugs in our communities that have been cleared of local drug dealers. In response, Kaufman County Sheriff's Office Assistant Chief Troy Graham declared that, "we are going to get these dealers off the streets."
Ecstasy is the street name for
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA for short. In various parts of the country, ecstasy is also known as E, X or XTC. Ecstasy is a psychoactive drug that also falls under several other categories of drug, including amphetamines (stimulants), psychedelics and emphatogenic-entactogens.
According to the Wikipedia articled linked above, ecstasy produces feelings of euphoria accompanied by a sense of intimacy with others and diminished feelings of fear and anxiety. While originally associated with the rave culture and electronic music, in recent years, ecstasy has spread throughout many high schools and communities throughout the US. MDMA has been linked to neurotoxic damage of the central nervous system.
Ecstasy users have shown markedly increased rates of depression and anxiety, even after quitting the drug, fueling concerns about the long-term effects of using ecstasy even a few times. Parents should be aware of this drug considering that in 2007, MDMA was the only drug reported to have in increase in use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders according to a study released by the University of of Michigan. Simultaneously, perceived risk and disapproval ratings have declined among students in these grade levels.
Ecstasy is generally sold in pill form, which is manufactured in a number of shapes and colors, but generally has a monogram or imprint in the top of the pill. MDMA has also been found in crystal form in some parts of the country. Ecstasy is becoming even deadlier because of the number of pills being sold as ecstasy that actually contain other active and inactive ingredients - the lack of a common color or style of pill means that some individuals are selling all types of colored pills as ecstasy. Photos of both the pill form of ecstasy as well as the crystal form of MDMA appear below. Click each image for a larger version.
In addition, you may be interested in participating in a thread WFShaun created earlier today entitled "
The Effects of Drugs on a Person's Life".
