conviction in lamar related ecstacy case...

huge lab was located here, according to federal authorities...

LEAD DEFENDANT SENTENCED IN GEORGIA’S LARGEST
ECSTASY MANUFACTURING CASE
Marc Noblitt Sentenced After Recapture and Extradition From Germany
Atlanta, GA - MARC EUGENE NOBLITT, 39, formerly of Riverdale, Georgia,
was sentenced Monday by United States District Judge Clarence Cooper for orchestrating
the largest ecstasy manufacturing operation prosecuted in Georgia. Overall, the
manufacturing conspiracy established and operated at least seven ecstasy laboratories in
the Atlanta area starting in 1998 and continuing until the organization was dismantled by
federal agents in November 2003.
“This is the first prosecution of this kind in Georgia, and one of the few instances
in the entire Southeastern United States where drug dealers manufactured their own
ecstasy,” said David. E. Nahmias. “It’s a difficult chemical process that requires a high
level of sophistication to complete. It’s rare to find a single ecstasy lab, and this group
had several operating at once. This prosecution involves some intelligent, highly-educated
young people who used their college degrees to unleash a dangerous, addictive drug on
the community,” Nahmias said. “The case also shows that drug dealers cannot run and
hide to avoid being prosecuted, as we will find them and bring them to justice.”
NOBLITT was sentenced to 21 years and 10 months in prison to be followed by
five years of supervised release, and fined $5,000 to pay for the costs of his extradition
from Germany. NOBLITT was convicted of these charges on February 22, 2007.

According to Nahmias and the information presented in court: The identified and
charged ringleaders of the ecstasy operation were NOBLITT and MICHAEL OGBURN,
of Atlanta. OGBURN committed suicide after his arrest in November 2003. NOBLITT
cut off an electronic monitoring bracelet and jumped bond before his trial was to begin in
February 2005. He was recaptured on April 22, 2006, in Cologne, Germany, and
extradited back to the United States, where he entered a non-negotiated plea of guilty on
February 22, 2007. With the exception of NOBLITT all the remaining defendants had
entered guilty pleas and were sentenced in 2005.

2
NOBLITT and OGBURN began manufacturing ecstasy in small laboratories
inside residences in Atlanta and in smaller towns outside the city such as Jonesboro, and
Rex, Georgia, from 1998 through 2001. Afterward, NOBLITT and OGBURN discovered
it was more lucrative to train others to establish ecstasy laboratories on their behalf and
obtain the finished product at a discount. Through all the labs, NOBLITT and
OGBURN’s organization manufactured an estimated 44 kilograms of ecstasy, which was
then packed into gelatin capsules or pressed into tablets and distributed in Atlanta and
elsewhere. At the close of the investigation in 2003, agents busted two laboratories
operated by individuals who were manufacturing ecstasy for distribution by NOBLITT
and OGBURN; these laboratories were operating inside residential homes in Buckhead
and Barnesville, Georgia. These laboratories contained enough chemicals and equipment
to manufacture an additional 10-20 kilograms of ecstasy powder.
According to the evidence, the discovery of the Barnesville lab was key to the
prosecution of the case. On September 16, 2003, drug investigators working for the
Lamar County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
received a complaint from a neighbor about unusual odors coming from a house in
Barnesville, Georgia. The agents searched the house and discovered a functioning
ecstasy laboratory, described by DEA as the largest in Georgia history. Agents arrested
ADAM MORTON, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia, in connection with that laboratory, and the
investigation immediately tied the lab to NOBLITT and OGBURN. Four months later, in
January 2004, agents busted another operating lab tied to the organization, located in
house at 25 Lakeland Drive, which sits in a residential neighborhood in Buckhead just off
Roswell Road.
Taken together, the laboratories manufactured enough ecstasy to make almost
600,000 ecstasy tablets, with a street value of approximately $10 million.
The evidence showed that the NOBLITT and OGBURN organization benefitted
from a surge in the popularity of ecstasy among club-going young adults in the late
1990's. The surge in ecstasy use coincided with a growth in the popularity of rave parties
and dance clubs in Atlanta and across the United States.
The investigation showed that NOBLITT first initiated the plan to manufacture
ecstasy with a high school friend, HOWARD BRADSHAW, 37, of Atlanta, who had
earned a chemistry degree from Georgia Tech. NOBLITT later taught the procedure for
manufacturing ecstasy to ALVIN CHOI, 30, of Atlanta, who graduated with a chemistry
degree from Emory University. BRADSHAW and CHOI both entered guilty pleas in the
case in 2005.
The investigation showed that in July 2001, OGBURN and NOBLITT were
manufacturing ecstasy in the basement of NOBLITT’s residence in Riverdale when a
container of chemicals exploded in OGBURN’s face. Investigators obtained hospital
records showing that OGBURN received treatment for serious burns and lacerations on
his face and arms.
In addition, the investigation showed that in November 2001, OGBURN was the
victim of a home invasion robbery committed by members of the “Diablos” gang, which
targeted high-level drug dealers for robberies while wearing Fulton County Deputy
Sheriff uniforms. During the robbery, members of the Diablos gang handcuffed and beat
OGBURN, locked him inside a closet, and stole $30,000 in cash and two kilograms of
ecstasy powder. The members of the Diablos gang later were arrested and prosecuted by
the Atlanta U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Other defendants already sentenced in the case include:
ADAM MORTON, 28, of Atlanta Georgia, seven years and five months in prison
(sentenced in Macon, Georgia); JEFFREY ANDERSON, 37, of Atlanta, Georgia, five
years in prison; RAYMOND RAWLS, 28, Atlanta, Georgia, seven years, one month in
prison; SCOTT LASSITER, 32, of Atlanta, four years and nine months in prison; TORRE
SEATON, 33, Smyrna, Georgia, two years and six months in prison; JOHN MASKEW,
26, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, three years, one months in prison; JOEY LEE, 37, of
Kennesaw, Georgia, two years, three months in prison; ALVIN CHOI, 30, of Atlanta,
Georgia, three years of probation; HOWARD BRADSHAW, 37, of Atlanta, three years
of probation.