U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and CNMI Drug Enforcement Task Force and Customs officers have busted an ex-convict and a security guard who allegedly ran a clandestine methamphetamine or \u201cice\u201d laboratory in a hotel room and at a Dandan home. <\/p>\n
Vincent David Cabrera Jr., also known as Bong, and Eugene Blas Repeki, also known as Uncle, were charged in federal court with conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. <\/p>\n
Repeki was charged separately with illegal possession of a controlled substance in Superior Court.<\/p>\n
Cabrera and Repeki are expected to be taken before the U.S. District Court for the NMI today, Tuesday, for an initial court appearance hearing.<\/p>\n
Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo imposed a $50,000 cash bail on the 39-year-old Repeki.<\/p>\n
Last Sunday, investigators searched Cabrera\u2019s room at Saipan Vegas Resort and Repeki\u2019s house in Dandan.<\/p>\n
Upon entering the hotel room, investigators were allegedly immediately hit with an overwhelming smell of chemical odor and arrested Cabrera.<\/p>\n
A DEA special agent clad in personal protective wear, double gloves, and a respirator processed the hotel room, taking samples from a yellow powdery substance inside a water bottle, a clear liquid from plastic bottles and Styrofoam cup, and white powder from a plastic container. He also seized Sudogest pills and other drug paraphernalia.<\/p>\n
During the search at Repeki\u2019s house, investigators also took samples of the same liquid and powders that were found in Cabrera\u2019s hotel room. <\/p>\n
According to DEA special agent Kirk F. Johns, the investigation began last Oct. 15 when he was contacted by a pharmacy employee who tipped them about the purchasing patterns of some people of cold medicine containing pseudo-ephedrine.<\/p>\n
That day, a man arrived at the pharmacy and bought two boxes of 30 pills each of Sudogest, a cold medicine.<\/p>\n
Five minutes later, another man arrived at the pharmacy and bought a box of 30 pills of Sudogest.<\/p>\n
Johns said he went over the pharmacy\u2019s list of buyers of medicine that contain pseudo-ephedrine and the logbooks showed that Cabrera, Repeki, and another person bought thousands of milligrams of active pseudo-ephedrine from July 3 to Oct. 15, 2017.<\/p>\n
He said he then received a call from a tipster last Oct. 16 about people led by Cabrera cooking \u201cice\u201d on Saipan by using the \u201cshake and bake\u201d method.<\/p>\n
Johns said he and another officer met with the tipster who revealed that Cabrera usually cooks \u201cice\u201d at his friend\u2019s house or in a trunk of a rental car.<\/p>\n
The tipster then rode with investigators and pointed out the rear of a house where Cabrera usually cooks the \u201cice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tipster stated that the \u201cice\u201d being cooked is of good quality and is made using plastic 2-liter soda bottles.<\/p>\n
The drug traffickers will commonly mix Cabrera\u2019s \u201cice\u201d with other meth that \u201cis Chinese and on the streets of Saipan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cabrera allegedly learned the \u201cshake and bake\u201d method of cooking \u201cice\u201d while he was living in Guam.<\/p>\n
Last Feb. 8, Department of Public Safety K-9 officer Rudolfo Hermosilla conducted a traffic stop on a car driven by Repeki for speeding on Middle Road in Chalan Laulau.<\/p>\n
During the search, the officer seized two plastic baggies with powdery substance and numerous empty baggies and other items.<\/p>\n
Repeki was later allowed to leave and drive to his worksite.<\/p>\n
Last Feb. 24, investigators observed several persons entering and exiting Cabrera\u2019s room at Saipan Vegas Resort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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