Two Californians convicted in record LSD bust
SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- Two Californians who operated a drug laboratory that could produce as much as $100 million of LSD in little over a month were convicted Monday on drug charges, the Drug Enforcement Administration said.
William Pickard, 57, and Clyde Apperson, 47, were arrested in Kansas in November 2000 as they transported an illegal LSD lab in a rented truck. The DEA called it the largest LSD lab seizure ever. Both men were from the San Francisco area, once a hot bed of the 1960s drug counter-culture.
The jury in the 11-week trial at a federal court in Topeka, Kansas, heard evidence that the two men previously had a laboratory in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that could produce 2.2 pounds of LSD every five weeks -- enough to make 10 million doses. One dose would sell for up to $10.
The two men face at least 10 years in prison on charges of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute more than 10 grams of LSD and on one count of intent to distribute the drug.
They are scheduled to be sentenced in Kansas in August. Pickard is already in federal custody and Apperson was remanded into custody on Monday.
Copyright 2003
Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
