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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal authorities charged 55 people with trafficking in illegal drug paraphernalia in an investigation they said targeted the nation's biggest Internet distributors of marijuana bongs, crack pipes and other drug abuse gear.
In coordinated raids on Monday, officials confiscated "thousands and thousands of tons" of paraphernalia from companies boasting up to $50 million in annual sales, said Mary Beth Buchanan, U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh whose office is leading the "Operation Pipe Dreams" investigation along with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"No one would possibly use these items for smoking tobacco," Buchanan said at a Justice Department news conference.
Attorney General John Ashcroft said the sale of drug paraphernalia has exploded on the Internet, making it easier for teenagers and young adults to buy it. The items often are disguised as such things as lipstick cases to escape detection and are marketed under code names and symbols.
Read full story here:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/02/24/drug.paraphernalia.ap/index.html
In coordinated raids on Monday, officials confiscated "thousands and thousands of tons" of paraphernalia from companies boasting up to $50 million in annual sales, said Mary Beth Buchanan, U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh whose office is leading the "Operation Pipe Dreams" investigation along with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"No one would possibly use these items for smoking tobacco," Buchanan said at a Justice Department news conference.
Attorney General John Ashcroft said the sale of drug paraphernalia has exploded on the Internet, making it easier for teenagers and young adults to buy it. The items often are disguised as such things as lipstick cases to escape detection and are marketed under code names and symbols.
Read full story here:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/02/24/drug.paraphernalia.ap/index.html