Enterprise

Eight arrested during Nederland fireworks shop raid drug trafficking charges



Federal agents arrested eight people Wednesday on charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering for using a Mid-County fireworks store to deal a chemical known as a date-rape drug, which may have resulted in two deaths.

A federal grand jury returned a 24-count indictment June 3, charging the the owners of Nederland’s Jake’s Fireworks and several others, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.


Jake Ellis Daughtry, 34; Joseph Ellis Daughtry, 64; Sandra Miller Daughtry, 72; Jordan Lee King, 31; Tanner John Jorgensen, 28; and Austin Wayne Dial, 28; all from Nederland were arrested. Others included Kip William Daughtry, 46, of Vidor; and Jesse Lee Hackett, 37, of The Woodlands.



An unnamed ninth suspect also is in custody, the release said.

The department alleges that Jake’s Fireworks operated as a front for Right Price Chemicals, which is owned by the Daughtry family. The warehouse for Right Price Chemicals sits directly behind the seasonal fireworks business. Right Price Chemicals allegedly allowed individuals to purchase 1,4 butanediol, commonly referred to as BDO.


“BDO is a chemical manufactured only for industrial or laboratory use as a floor stripper or vehicle wheel cleaner and is not intended for human consumption,” the release said. “Investigators determined that when BDO is ingested, it immediately metabolizes into GHB (a known date-rape drug) with the same effects, causing potential overdoses, addiction, and death.”


The Drug Enforcement Administration reportedly traced parcels of the chemical to the Nederland business.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that Right Price Chemicals distributed approximately 7,000 gallons of BDO over thousands of orders, generating $4.5 million in sales. They also allege customers could buy BDO from Jake’s Fireworks through internet orders and have the chemical shipped to their home. Right Price Chemicals reportedly distributed bulk quantities of BDO to mid-level dealers, that, in turn, sold or distributed the chemical to users.

Officials claim to link two deaths, one in Florida and one in Virginia, to BDO sold by Right Price Chemicals.

On Wednesday, agents spent at least three hours using a forklift to move barrels to and from the warehouse. Family members of store employees showed up after hearing of the raid and finding calls to employee’s cellphones went straight to voicemail.


A man on scene trying to contact his wife was told by an officer that employees were ordered to turn off their phones, and were being held in an office in the store.

She was released nearly two hours later, before getting in her car and driving away.

The Enterprise team saw federal agents handcuff one man before loading him into a police car and driving off.

“Investigators have also determined that the proceeds from the distribution and sale of BDO, which total over $1 million, have been laundered through several bank and retirement accounts throughout Southeast Texas,” the release said. “Those accounts have now been seized…Jake Daughtry, Joe Daughtry, Sandra Daughtry, and Kip Daughtry also face civil penalties under the Controlled Substance Act.”

If convicted, the defendants face a and up to life in prison.

chris.moore@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/chris_moore09





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