University student arrested with thousands of doses of 2C-I, 2C-E

[radiometer]

Go ahead and move this to the phenethylamine forum if that's where you'd prefer it to be.


Honor student arrested on drug charges

03:08 PM CDT on Tuesday, July 17, 2007

RAYMOND LEGENDRE and JOHN DeSANTIS / Houma Courier

THIBODAUX -- To fellow students at Nicholls State University, Jose Barragan is a quiet but bright guy with a knack for working with computers and designing Web sites. He maintains a high grade-point average and is active in campus life.

Houma Courier

Jose Barragan

His booking sheet at the Lafourche Parish jail and other documents relating to his arrest last week, however, allege that he also deals designer drugs available over the Internet and was caught with enough product and distribution material to take in $72,000 had the operation continued.

Barragan, 23, an Ecuadorian national, is being held in lieu of a $100,000 bond following a two-month undercover operation during which deputies allege he sold capsules containing a hallucinogen.

When Barragan’s on-campus Maison du Bayou apartment was raided Friday, drug agents said, they found 7,238 capsules, most alleged to have been filled with chemicals called 2C-I and 2C-E.

Other arrests, they said, are expected.

ANALOG DRUGS

The chemicals are not necessarily illegal to possess or distribute unless it is determined that they will be used for human consumption.

They fall into a legal category called "analog drugs," a type that is chemically similar to other drugs.

Louisiana and federal laws say that possession of a chemical in this category is a violation of the same nature as the drug it mimics.

Analog-drug laws were designed to allow the government to combat manmade drugs such as Ecstacy and MDMA when they gained popularity on club scenes years ago.

'BARELY DRANK’

On and off the Nicholls campus Monday, students who knew Barragan -- an honor student on the most recent President’s List released by the university -- said they were distressed and taken aback by word of his arrest and allegations of the drug operation. Students included on the list must maintain a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher.

A half-dozen students -- mostly members of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, for which Barragan served as secretary -- described him as easy-going and somewhat friendly, if a bit reserved.

His passion was computers, they said.

"He made our Web site and scheduled places for us to have meetings," Daniel Dauterive said. "He didn’t seem at all like that kind of guy."

"He barely even drank," said fellow student Trey Ledbetter, who has been on forays to downtown Thibodaux with the computer-sciences major. "He is definitely not what you would call a party animal."

Ledbetter and other students said Barragan did not have a car and "walked around campus a lot" or got school buddies to drive him to places he needed to go.

Some fraternity members -- including Ledbetter -- expressed concern that Barragan’s arrest would reflect negatively on the group, which is involved with a variety of civic projects.

Alex Ludwig, a mass-communications major and fraternity member, expressed sadness but also took a tough stand, suggesting that he and other TKE members would seek ways to disassociate Barragan from their group. Some were checking to see if conviction of a crime is needed to do so, or if merely being accused or arrested is enough.

"He is a great guy. From the time I have known him, he has always been there for me," Ludwig said. "But the organization does not stand for that type of involvement."

DATE-RAPE POTENTIAL

Lafourche authorities, meanwhile, said that while they were not classifying the substances as date-rape drugs, they had concerns that some people may have been sexually abused after ingesting them, citing the potential for memory loss.

They ask that anyone who thinks he or she might have been a victim call 532-2808.

Lafourche Sheriff’s Office Lt. John Champagne acknowledged that arrests for such drugs are rare.

"Most of your college students party on what they get," Champagne said. "It appears he was doing more than that. It appears he was looking to make a profit although he says he wasn’t. … He was getting it out of Canada in powder form."

Champagne said Barragan’s personal computer and passport were seized. Immigration officials were notified and if he is convicted, Barragan would likely be sent back to his homeland.

So-called analog drugs made headlines in Louisiana in 2004, when the death of a St. Francisville man was attributed to them. A multi-state task force led by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration -- in which Louisiana authorities participated -- shut down Web sites marketing the drugs.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre credited university police, along with the DEA and the Thibodaux Police Department, with assisting in the Nicholls case.

University officials asked to discuss the matter did not return phone calls Monday.

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Reputation Comments on this post:

research chemical articles are appreciated

[fnord]

huh? date rape drug...gotta love the media
seams like someone that might be a forum member if my gut instinct is correct

[grandbaby]

Speaking of gut instincts, my colon says this probably has something to do with the recent disappearance of a certain Canadian vendor.

The ridonkulous ignorance of the reporter is so typical as to not warrant mentioning.

[Heretic.Ape.]

I'm glad I've avoided schools that keep that crazy fraternity/sorority thing going. I like how the frat boys just wanted to protect the sacred name of their boys club and "dissociate" the poor guy. In fact I'm surprised a psychonaut would have anything to do with a frat, not quite a mind expanding environment.

[JDreaming]

This sounds like a really nice guy I would have loved to have had as a friend, but with a carelessly laid out and reckless operation. I doubt it is related to the Canadian research supplier bust that everyone is talking about, because A) it's a young college student, and B) he's selling 2C psychedelics in capsule form... not packets of pure chemicals with "not for consumption" tags. If you're selling 2C psychedelics in pill capsules then you're obviously going to have a problem with law enforcement. Preparing research chemicals for consumption eliminates a vendor's best legal defense and leads to stories like this.

And how and why does a story about a psychedelic phenethylamine bust still manage to have the phrase "date rape drug" inside of it? Is there any possible drug the media can write an article about without mentioning date rape? Probably not...

[Nagognog2]

Well, weren't we waiting for this to happen? The BIG-BUST of RC's to pave the way for an outright scheduling? This might be it.

[sterling77]

Shit that's horrible. I was about to type the same thing nag, this is the kind of thing that makes me think of a phrase: emergency scheduling.

[grandbaby]

Originally Posted by JDreaming

I doubt it is related to the Canadian research supplier bust that everyone is talking about, because A) it's a young college student, and B) he's selling 2C psychedelics in capsule form... not packets of pure chemicals with "not for consumption" tags.

What I meant was, sounds like the kid was buying off our friend and the DEA has coordinated visiting with each of them. I have nothing to base this on but the purest hunch ... and yes, I hear the tolling bells. However, it could mean nothing of the sort; after all, there have been busts and webtryps before, and the Grand Scheduling has not yet happened ... but keep your heads down anyhow, ducklings.

[jux]

Originally Posted by JDreaming

I doubt it is related to the Canadian research supplier bust that everyone is talking about...

i wouldn't be surprised if this bust was either the cause or result of that vendor being busted. word through the grapevine is that some customers of the vendor in question have even gotten DEA visits...so i wouldn't be surprised to hear about more busts in the near future.....

then again, the vendor was selling rc's pretty openly...you could find him in under 2 minutes with google...so maybe thats why he got busted, you can only operate that openly for so long before something happens...

either way, neither bust looks good for the rc scene....which sucks for MIF, he just discovered RC's...

[radiometer]

How about if we change the subject back and save that for the sources forum?