Page 32 - MIN JUS - MAY 18,2015

U.S. NEWS A7
Man who smuggled oil into U.S. in wine bottles gets probation
This undated photo provided by Department of Homeland
Security/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows
Wolfgang Hans Langlois from his Hawaii driver’s license.
JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER
Associated Press
HONOLULU (AP) — A Ger-
man citizen who lives in
Hawaii was sentenced
Thursday to three years of
probation for smuggling oil
that’s commonly used to
make ecstasy.
Wolfgang Hans Langlois
put safrole oil in wine bot-
tles hidden in household
items he shipped from Ger-
many to Kauai last year,
according to documents
filed in federal court in Ho- Germany, they discovered
nolulu. Customs agents
intercepted the shipment
and found the oil, which is
legal but requires special
permission to import.
Langlois pleaded guilty to
smuggling but maintains
the oil was not for ecstasy
but for a legal substance
he wanted to make for his
wife, who has cancer.
He also got 720 hours of
community service as part
Saturday 16 May 2015
Harrison said Thursday his home. In an attempt to convince
client is a chemist and was “Agents conducting sur- the judge to sentence Lan-
not trying to make ecstasy. veillance noticed that the glois to some jail time, Rob-
Instead, Langlois wanted defendant was taking ac- erts put a Drug Enforce-
to use the oil to experiment tions that appeared to be ment Administration spe-
with creating a legal, non- counter-surveillance tech- cial agent on the witness
psychedelic, naturopathic niques, such as stopping stand to discuss what was
medication to help his wife on the side of the main found during the search.
cope with breast cancer, road without any appar- There were various chemi-
Harrison said. ent reason and by making cals, flasks used in meth
“They’re both very into or- turns while increasing and labs and a cookbook of
ganic practices ... they decreasing his speed,” the sorts on making chemical
grow their own food,” Har- affidavit said. “Eventually, substances — bookmarked
rison said. They built their the defendant proceeded at the MDMA pages, said
house with scrap wood, he to his residence.” Special Agent Frank Bru.
said. During a search of Langlois’ Harrison said those chemi-
The oil was removed from property, agents found cals could be used to make
the shipment and replaced what appeared to be a soaps and perfume.
with fake oil. Agents ob- chemical laboratory, the Langlois pleaded guilty in
tained a warrant to use a affidavit said. January. In his plea agree-
tracking device and then The 7,500 milliliters of oil ment, he admitted he flew
allowed the shipment to found could have pro- from Hawaii to Germany,
continue to Lihue, Kauai, duced 10,000 to 70,000 ec- where he obtained the oil
the affidavit said. stasy pills, said Assistant U.S. and intended to import it
On Sept. 19, Langlois ar- Attorney Tony Roberts. He to the United States without
rived at a pier to pick up estimates the Hawaii street telling customs officials.
the shipment, and agents value of one pill to be $10 He apologized in court, say-
followed him as he drove to $15. ing he’s learned a lesson.q
Associated Press
of his sentence.
The shipment caught the
attention of agents be-
cause Langlois’ name was
on a watch list for people
suspected of smuggling ec-
stasy to Hawaii from South
America in vitamin and
face cream jars in 2008,
according to the court pa-
pers. Langlois was never
charged in that case.
In August 2014, when
agents in Los Angeles inter-
cepted the shipment from
10 wine bottles containing
an “unknown yellow liquid
stored inside of a wooden
nightstand in a suspicious
manner,” according to an
affidavit by a Homeland
Security Investigations spe-
cial agent.
Tests revealed the liquid
was safrole oil, used to
manufacture MDMA, also
known ecstasy or molly.
Defense attorney William