1998 to 2001

OPERATIONS RAVE I & II

In October 1998, the Special Operations Division (SOD), with the assistance of foreign law enforcement agencies, identified Oded Tuito as a major trafficker of millions of MDMA tablets from Europe to the United States. Based on investigative leads, DEA began Operation Rave to disrupt the flow of ecstasy into the country. This investigation resulted in 208 arrests, the seizure of 6,501,503 MDMA tablets, and over $4 million dollars worth of assets.

As a result of Operation Rave, Tuito was charged with a number of trafficking crimes, but fled to Europe where he was arrested by French authorities. Unfortunately, he was subsequently released and relocated his MDMA trafficking organization to Barcelona, Spain in late 2000.

MDMA tablets, also known as Ecstasy, come a variety of designer colors and symbols. Dealers often market the tablets based on the imprinted symbols.

In December 2000, DEA and the U.S. Customs Service, along with Los Angeles area police initiated an investigation of Jacob Simon Levi who was identified as a cell head in the Tuito organization. In April 2001, intelligence was received from the Levi investigation that he was coordinating the transport of 70,000 MDMA tablets from New York to Florida. This intelligence was passed on to the DEA New York office which initiated surveillance on two more suspects. One of the two, Yitzig Sabag made a call to Levi after the two suspects loaded a rental car with 70,000 MDMA tablets. Later, Sabag and Yehiel Amoyal were stopped by the Delaware State Police. A consent search revealved 68,456 tablets of Ecstasy.

The arrest of Sabag and Amoyal lead to information about another cell head in Miami, Nissim Elal. DEA Miami subsequently arrested Elal who had over 50,000 MDMA tablets.

Meanwhile, the Spanish Police were conducting surveillance on Tuito. Based on wiretaps and other information, Spanish authorities arrested Tuito on the outstanding fugitive warrant on May 18, 2001. Five days later, federal agents seized 100,000 MDMA tablets, concealed in picture frames, at the UPS terminal in Louisville, Kentucky. The frames were destined for a business being used by the Levi organization as a front for drug trafficking.

The investigation then rooted out the source for Tuito’s MDMA supply in Holland, Nissim Ruven. From June 2001 through the end of July, agents from Holland, Israel, the United States, and Germany conducted surveillance on a variety of individuals within the trafficking organization. Based on the surveillance, arrests of couriers and seizures of MDMA tablets were made in Australia, Spain, Canada, and Los Angeles. By the end of July, authorities decided to conduct sweeps of members of the organization. Eventually, Los Angeles cell heads Jacob Levi and Shimon Keslassy were arrested with other members of the trafficking group.

To date, Rave I and II have resulted in the arrest of 247 people, the seizure of 7,524,151 MDMA tablets, and $3.5 million dollars in seized assets.

Parents, to help you learn more about club drugs, DEA collaborated with other components of the Department of Justice to produce a brochure titled, Tips for Parents: The Truth About Club Drugs. To see extended listings of publications related to Club Drugs, click here: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/docs/clubdrug.pdf www.ncjrs.org/club_drugs/publications.html The following links provide more information about drug abuse: www.casacolumbia.org (National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse) www.nida.nih.gov (National Institute on Drug Abuse) www.drugfreeamerica.org (Partnership for a Drug-Free America)