Morris Cortez Jr.
July 19, 2007Imogene Smith
July 23, 2007
A Nicholls State University student was arrested by agents of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office’s Drug Task Force on suspicion of distributing hallucinogenic drugs around the Nicholls State campus.
Early July 13, the agents arrested Jose Berragan, 23, a native of Ecuador who was living at 145 Circle de Universite in Thibodaux.
Undercover law enforcement agents made several purchases of the drugs from Berragan after they opened an investigation in May.
After making a purchase on July 12, the agents executed a search warrant on Berragan’s apartment on the Nicholls State campus.
They seized 7,238 pills, and Berragan’s computer and passport.
Berragan could have made more than $72,000 by selling the pills, said Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman Larry Weidel. He was selling the capsules for $10 apiece.
The seized pills were identified as analog drugs, which are similar to specific controlled substances. The chemical constitution of the analogs is altered slightly, however.
“An analog can be legal or illegal,” Weidel said.
Berragan was charged with distribution of the Schedule 1 analog 2C-E; possession with intent to distribute Schedule 1 analog 2C-E; possession with intent to distribute Schedule 1 analog 2C-I, and manufacturing Schedule 1 analog 2C-E.
Weidel said that manufacturing a drug involves obtaining the powder and placing it in a capsule.
Since the pills may cause memory loss, the sheriff’s office is concerned that they could have been used in connection with sexual assaults.
“He could have marketed the drugs as a way to have your way with someone,” Weidel said.
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who feels they may have ingested the drug unknowingly and been assaulted sexually to call authorities at (985) 532-2808.
Berragan’s bond was set at $100,000 by state District Judge Jerome Barbara.
However, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arm of the federal Dept. of Homeland Security, placed a hold on the bond. A hold bars the release of Berragan from custody even if he is able to make bail.
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the Thibodaux Police Department’s Narcotics Division and the Nicholls State Police Department assisted with the investigation.
Weidel said the sheriff’s office brings in the DEA when foreign nationals are the targets of drug investigations.
The DEA helps identify illegal substances and aids in undercover work, he said.
The agency can charge suspected criminals with federal offenses, and operate more quickly since it does not have the sheriff’s office’s heavy caseload, Weidel said.
Arrest warrants have also been obtained on the sales Berragan made to undercover agents prior to his July 13 arrest, Weidel said.
The sheriff’s office Drug Task Force and the DEA are continuing the investigation, and more arrests are anticipated, according to a news release.
