24 Charged as Alleged Drug Lab Is Raided

Twenty-four people were charged Thursday as authorities raided what they said was an elaborate laboratory to manufacture the “party drug” Ecstasy for sale in San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Hidden behind an Escondido business that produces X-rated videos, the lab was preparing to sell Ecstasy to distributors in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Tijuana, authorities said.

Eleven search warrants were served Thursday in Costa Mesa, Los Altos, Perris, Hemet, Los Angeles and San Diego.

The Escondido laboratory was said to be capable of making 1 million to 1.5 million tablets of Ecstasy a month but was discovered before it had begun distribution.

A single tablet of Ecstasy can cost upward of $30 and provide an immediate sense of euphoria and sexual abandon.

Researchers have warned of long-term brain damage.

The drug has become popular at all-night “raves,” which feature pulsating techno-music. Ecstasy is a cross between methamphetamine and LSD.

Virtually unknown in this country until recent years, Ecstasy has soared in popularity. Most supplies are thought to be manufactured in Europe and smuggled into the United States by the Russian and Israeli mafias.

The Escondido lab, authorities said, represented an attempt to break into that underground business by producing the drug in this country, thus decreasing costs and making distribution easier.

“This case represents a major attempt to establish a foothold in the U.S.,” said Errol Chavez, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s San Diego office.

Authorities alleged that the ringleader of the lab operation was Dennis Louis Alba, 52, of Oceanside. Alba, who was taken into custody, has prior drug convictions, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Todd Robinson.

Some of the chemicals used to make the tablets came from Europe, authorities said.

Twenty-one of the 24 people charged were arrested Thursday.