Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Eleven people were indicted for their alleged roles in a drug conspiracy that involved sending drug-soaked pieces of paper to prison inmates, according to a Justice Department press release. Roy Kahn, 48, and Christopher Adams, 41, allegedly devised a “chemical process” that allowed narcotics to be infused into pieces of paper, which could then be cut into strips and smoked. At the height of Kahn’s multi-state operation, which ran from 2015 to 2018, they were producing “at least 500 drug-infused pages” using “one kilogram of drugs a week,” prosecutors allege. “The job is badass…they drown those sheets…and then they hang them…like photographs, they have them with clips and leave them to dry,” one of the indicted group members, Irwin Jose Vargas, allegedly told authorities.
The organization disguised the papers as legal documents, Harry Potter coloring books, photographs, books, and pamphlets so the drugs could pass through prison security undetected, according to prosecutors. They allegedly charged at least $500 per sheet and used money laundering techniques to make the payments seem legitimate. Kahn is also accused of using the cash they made to buy more “fentanyl analogues and other opioids” from China for further distribution. Seven of the 11 indicted are in federal prison, but Kahn and Adams are reportedly not in custody.