Pubdate: Fri, 04 Aug 2000
Source: Register-Guard, The (OR)
Copyright: 2000 The Register-Guard
Contact:  PO Box 10188, Eugene, OR 97440-2188
Website: http://www.registerguard.com/
Author: Greg Bolt, STORE OWNER CHARGED WITH TRYING TO DELIVER 'METH LAB' CHEMICALS

A Gresham convenience store owner faces federal drug charges after being 
arrested in Eugene with 200 cases of an over-the-counter cold medicine used 
in the manufacture of methamphetamine, authorities said Thursday.

Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency arrested Kyeong Jim Yom, 34, 
when he arrived Tuesday in Eugene to deliver the cases of pseudoephedrine 
to an undercover agent, a U.S. Department of Justice statement said.

Although the drug is commonly available in stores, it is used in 
clandestine labs to make methamphetamine, and federal law bars its sale or 
distribution for that purpose.

The government alleges that Yom "knew or should have known" that the 
chemical was destined for a meth lab, said Assistant U.S. Attorney James 
Laing. Yom faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted 
of the charges.

The Eugene shipment contained a total of 1.7 million pseudoephedrine 
tablets, enough to make more than 200 pounds of methamphetamine with a 
street value of more than $2 million, according to the statement.

Yom was one of 16 people arrested over the past week throughout Oregon for 
allegedly distributing pseudoephedrine. According to the Justice 
Department, the arrests were the result of long-term investigations carried 
out by the DEA and other federal agencies, along with police and the Oregon 
Liquor Control Commission.

Although pseudoephedrine is commonly sold in grocery and drug stores, the 
investigation focused on the double-dose, 60 mg tablets most often sold in 
"non-traditional" outlets such as convenience stores, gas stations, truck 
stops and head shops. The suspects in many similar investigations in recent 
years have been the owners and employees of convenience stores who have 
sold large amounts of pseudoephedrine to undercover agents, the Justice 
Department claims.

Yom is the owner of a Portland-area convenience store, Best Buy Foods. 
Laing said Yom allegedly agreed to sell 200 cases of the drug to an 
undercover agent for $400,000.

Laing said he didn't know why agents arranged to have the tablets delivered 
to Eugene and make the arrest here.

Lom also is charged in two similar incidents that occurred in the Portland 
area, he said.
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