PORTLAND, Ore. » A man arrested in Hawaii and three other people are charged with leading an international conspiracy to manufacture and sell designer drugs that has earned them $5 million since 2009.
Federal agents arrested Alexandre Valentinov Dimov in Hawaii earlier this week. Dimov and Ryan Scott of Vancouver, Wash., shipped merchandise from Peru labeled as incense, "burial powder" or insecticide, but federal agents identified the substances as a synthetic drug that imitates the high of cocaine and Ecstasy, the Oregonian newspaper reports. The shipment was seized in February 2011.
Less than two weeks later, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued an emergency order to control five chemicals, all of them synthetic cannabinoids used to make what government agents call "fake pot."
Scott and Dimov, a Bulgarian national living in Hawaii, face charges of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute a controlled substance. A mother-daughter pair from Las Vegas was charged with money laundering.
Scott was arrested on Tuesday and brought to court Wednesday, where he pleaded not guilty. Scott’s attorney says he pays his taxes and what he’s doing is legal.
Scott’s previous shipments came to Oregon, Alaska and California, and made their way to a 3,000-square-foot warehouse in Vancouver from which he operated KTW Enterprises Ltd. The items were sold online and to stores.
Prosecutors say Scott also marketed a synthetic marijuana substance under the label "K2," which drew a civil lawsuit from a Kansas company that produces an incense with the same name. The companies reached a settlement.
Manufacturers create synthetic marijuana by coating plant materials with chemicals that mimic the active ingredient in marijuana. The products promise users a legal high. Public health officials warn that the products can cause nausea, seizures, hallucinations, racing hearts, tremors and non-responsiveness.
Federal agents also seized hundreds of pounds of dried plant materials, packaging equipment, and chemicals from the Vancouver warehouse.
Scott was released from jail after his plea but ordered to relinquish his passport, not travel overseas and undergo drug testing.
