Pubdate: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY) Copyright: 2002 Lexington Herald-Leader Contact: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/240 Author: Bill Estep, South-Central Kentucky Bureau Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) TWO ARRESTS FUEL FEARS OF DRUG INFILTRATION Southeast Ky. Could Be Target Area For Traffickers LONDON - Two major methamphetamine seizures in three weeks have authorities concerned that an outside meth cartel may be trying to move into Southeast Kentucky. On Aug. 9, police arrested three men in Williamsburg who were attempting to take delivery of 16 pounds of meth, a highly addictive stimulant. This week, police seized 29 pounds of meth in London and charged three people with transporting it from Southern California for distribution. Before this month, most meth cases in the area involved an ounce or less that had been produced locally, typically in homemade labs. The two big meth shipments from out of state could indicate that large traffickers who operate "superlabs" in Mexico or the southwest United States are moving into the area, either to try to take over the market or to establish a base to distribute meth in other states. "It's raising our concern," said Michael Pelonero, resident agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office in London. The DEA investigated both of the recent large seizures and made arrests with support from other federal, state and local police. The first case grew out of a traffic stop in Arizona, in which police found just over 16 pounds of meth bound for Kentucky. The DEA turned the delivery into a sting, arresting Calvin Dawson, his son James Dawson, and Bobby Lovell, all of Rockcastle County, when they showed up in Williamsburg to get the shipment. All three have been charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and marijuana. The second big seizure grew out of a DEA investigation in Southern California. An informant there told federal drug agents that a large meth manufacturer named Eduardo "Lalo" Perez-Hernandez had made several shipments of the drug from his ranch outside San Diego to the London-Corbin area and was planning another large shipment, according to a sworn statement from Fred J. Baker, a DEA special agent in the London office. Baker testified at a hearing yesterday that Dale Clinton Lewis, 40, and his girlfriend Tammy Davidson, 34, both of Knox County, went to Perez-Hernandez's ranch last week to pick up the shipment. Lewis, with Davidson as passenger, brought the load back to Kentucky in a dog box in the back of his Ford pickup truck while the informant and Jose Salazar-Peliego, 34, followed in a Chevrolet Suburban. Salazar-Peliego, of Puebla, Mexico, was to make deliveries of the drug and collect for past shipments, Baker said. The four "drove more or less straight through" to Kentucky from San Diego, Baker said, arriving early Aug. 26. The DEA kept tabs on the shipment with a tracking device on the Suburban and through surveillance, including from the air. Police arrested Lewis, Davidson and Salazar-Peliego on Aug. 26. They are charged with conspiring to possess and distribute methamphetamine. Because of the large amount of the drug involved, they face maximum sentences of 10 years to life if convicted. There have also been arrests in California related to the case and more arrests are expected in the London area, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen C. Smith. Methamphetamine production and trafficking has mushroomed in Kentucky in recent years as the drug spread from California and across the Midwest into the Eastern United States. In 2001, for instance, the Kentucky State Police investigated 156 meth labs in Kentucky, said Lt. Lisa Rudzinski of the KSP. This year, the number could double; state police had investigated 174 labs as of July 31. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager