News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 19, 2005

Denver Man Charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute Ecstasy Following DEA Lab Bust
Ecstasy Lab Only the Fourth Ever Found in Colorado

AUG 22-- DENVER - Jeffrey Sweetin, Special Agent in Charge of the Denver Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Bill Leone, United States Attorney for the District of Colorado announced that CAMERON J. BARTLEY, age 30, of Denver, was charged by Criminal Complaint today with possession with intent to distribute MDMA, also know as Ecstasy, following the discovery yesterday of an alleged Ecstasy lab at his residence located at 19042 East 53rd Avenue, in Denver.

“DEA used old fashioned detective work and it paid off with the seizure of the fourth ecstasy lab in Colorado history and the arrest of the lab operator. Ecstasy labs pose the same danger to our community as methamphetamine labs. With this seizure, a sophisticated “cook” and a major supplier of ecstasy has been removed,” said Jeffrey Sweetin, Special Agent in Charge of the Denver Division of the DEA.

Using routine investigative techniques, the DEA determined that the defendant had purchased items and materials via the Internet that are likely used in a clandestine illegal drug laboratory. In this case, the items purchased included sassafras oil, lab glassware, and two manual empty capsule filler devices, as well as chemicals and other items that are used in clandestine laboratories. The capsule filling devices are regulated by the federal government.

As a result of the DEA investigation, on Thursday, August 18, 2005, the Denver Police Department obtained a state search warrant for Bartley’s address. Denver Police Department SWAT officers executed the immediate entry warrant, securing the residence for Denver Police officers and DEA agents to conduct a search. The subsequent search revealed the presence of a dismantled complex clandestine laboratory inside the garage and residence. Approximately 389 gross grams of a white substance that later tested positive for MDMA (Ecstasy) was found in the master bedroom in a Ziploc bag. A number of firearms were also found in the residence.

“Thanks to the investigative work of the DEA, a large amount of a dangerous club drug has been removed from the streets of Denver,” said Bill Leone, United States Attorney for the District of Colorado. “The discovery of this lab, and the careful handling of the materials discovered yesterday, is a testament to hard investigative work and federal and local law enforcement cooperation.”

BARTLEY has been preliminarily charged with possession with intent to distribute MDMA (Ecstasy). If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison and/or a $1,000,000 fine. A Criminal Complaint is a probable cause charging document. Every defendant accused of committing a federal crime has a Constitutional right to be indicted by a federal grand jury.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the Denver Police Department. The Denver Fire Department assisted with decontamination at the site of the search warrant.

These charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.