Obama Ecstasy bust concerns authorities
PALMVIEW — Local authorities are concerned about the discovery this week of scores of Ecstasy pills etched with the faces of President Barack Obama and various cartoon characters.
Federal and local law enforcement agencies frequently seize marijuana and cocaine stashes in the Rio Grande Valley. But the discovery of about 200 Ecstasy pills Monday during a traffic stop in Palmview is something of an anomaly, given how infrequently investigators in the region come across MDMA, as the drug is also known.
"We know that it is here, but it’s not here in large quantities in the way that it is in some other metro cities in the country," said Special Agent Will Glaspy, who heads the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s McAllen office.
The Ecstasy was among a "laundry list" of drugs Palmview police officers seized after they received a call of a reckless driver about 10:15 a.m. Monday, department spokesman Lt. Lenny Sanchez said.
A patrol officer caught up with the driver, Mario Guadalupe Saenz, near the intersection of Minnesota Road and the Expressway 83 eastbound frontage road, Sanchez said, adding that the man gave consent for the officer to search the vehicle.
Inside, police found about 200 Ecstasy pills and several dozen pills of Xanax, a prescription anti-anxiety medication.
The Ecstasy pills came in several shapes and colors and resemble chewable vitamins typically given to children, Sanchez said. They even include depictions of well-known figures like Obama, Homer Simpson and a Smurf.
Illicit manufacturers typically produce ecstasy pills in bright colors and in shapes depicting familiar characters — often from cartoons, or, as in Monday’s seizure, America’s president — as a "marketing tool to attract kids as customers," Glaspy said.
"One of the ploys is to disguise the drug as harmless — more of a vitamin as opposed to a controlled substance — thereby enticing more kids to try it," he said.
Investigators have found that some of the Ecstasy seized has been produced domestically, but much of it is imported from abroad, Glaspy said. The source of the Ecstasy seized in Monday’s traffic stop remains unknown.
A DEA bulletin published in June states Ecstasy tablets shaped like Obama’s face, Snoopy, Bart Simpson and Homer Simpson have been found across the Southwest.
In July, a U.S. Border Patrol dog discovered more than 46 pounds of the drug stuffed in a suitcase on a bus in Harlingen.
By comparison, the Ecstasy seized Monday weighs 63 grams — about one-tenth of a pound.
During the search of Saenz’s vehicle, police also seized several grams of cocaine and several ounces of marijuana wrapped in small plastic bags.
Saenz has remained "tight-lipped" with investigators about the assortment of drugs and whether they were for sale or personal use, Sanchez said. Investigators said the man has offered conflicting stories about where he got the drugs.
The 22-year-old Edinburg resident was arraigned on four counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of marijuana possession. Bond was set at $113,000.
The most serious controlled substance charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and an optional fine of up to $10,000 upon conviction.
Court records show Saenz has previous arrests on charges of burglary of a vehicle and marijuana possession. A pretrial hearing for those charges is set for this morning.
