Feds: Drugs made at kosher meat plant
Published: 05/13/2008
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/108541.htmlFederal authorities charged that a
methamphetamine laboratory was operating at the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse and that employees carried weapons to work.
The charges were among the most explosive details to emerge following the massive raid Monday at Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa.
In a 60-page application for a search warrant, federal agents revealed details of their six-month probe of Agriprocessors. The investigation involved 12 federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the departments of labor and agriculture.
According to the application, a former plant supervisor told investigators that some 80 percent of the workforce was illegal. They included rabbis responsible for kosher supervision, who the source believed entered the United States from Canada without proper immigration docuмents. The source did not provide evidence for his suspicion about the rabbis.
The source also claimed to have confronted a human resources manager with Social Security cards from three employees that had the same number. The manager laughed when the matter was raised, the source said.
At least 300 people were arrested Monday during the raid, for which federal authorities had rented an expansive fairground nearby to serve as a processing center for detainees.
The search warrant application said that 697 plant employees were believed to have violated federal laws.
Agriprocessors officials did not return calls from JTA seeking comment.
http://www.Jєωιѕнaz.com/issues/story.mv?080516+kosher
May 16, 2008/Iyar 11 5768, Volume 60, No. 39
Feds raid kosher plant, allege illegal drugs, workers
Three Israelis and four Ukrainians were among the detainees held on charges of being in the country illegally, Counts said. Officials are expected to bring criminal charges against some of the detainees as well, most of whom are from Guatemala and Mexico.
Methamphetamine, more commonly known as crystal meth, is illegal in the United States. The popular drug gives users a sense of energy and euphoria that can last for hours.
With Agriprocessors producing more than half of the nation's kosher meat, the raid has prompted fears of a disruption in supply. Though the plant was back in operation May 13, it was unclear if Agriprocessors could meet its normal production capacity with hundreds of its workers in federal custody.
Founded by Brooklyn butcher Aaron Rubashkin, Agriprocessors produces kosher meat and poultry marketed under the labels Aaron's Best and Rubashkin's.
The firm gained national attention in 2000 with the publication of the book "Postville," which described the tensions between the company and the local community. The company has attracted a significant population of Orthodox Jєωs to a rural pocket of northeastern Iowa.