An investigation into an apparent shipwreck off Maryland's Eastern Shore 15 months ago ended with the indictments of 22 persons for drug smuggling in what U.S. law enforcement officials said yesterday was one of the single largest drug operations ever uncovered in the United States.
From the debris of wood splinters and old inner-tubes that washed ashore in August 1980, investigators with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration traced a path of international intrigue, starting in the hemp fields of Lebanon and leading from the docks of Annapolis and Ocean City to the streets of California and Nevada.
Investigators believe the smugglers successfully brought 35,000 pounds of hashish into the country in that single shipment through Maryland's docks, an operation of massive scale involving an Annapolis condominum, a four-acre seaside Annapolis estate, a secluded farm in Church Hill on the Eastern Shore and three other houses scattered across Maryland.
George Brosan, the special agent in charge of the DEA's Baltimore district office, said that several separate drug rings cooperated in this single shipment, which was divided into small quantities at the various locations around the state and now is believed to be netting $25 million to $50 million in individual street sales.
On Nov. 25, a grand jury indicted 22 other persons connected with the case, only three of whom had been arrested as of last night. "This is not kiddie drugs here, Brosan said. People of this ilk do not just come along every day. This was a major entrepreneurial enterprise."
A Note from the Author
Peace to All!
This true account not only describes personal experiences but the coming of age of a generation. One of the goals while writing the book was to address negative impressions some people may have about the sixties phenomenon. I’ll be the first to admit we weren’t perfect…but who or what is? I truly believe that if the youth and free thinkers of the counter-culture movement had not been systematically undermined and discredited by the government and mainstream society our world would be a much different place today. Conflicts in the name of religion or vague “national interests” would be crimes against humanity, destruction of the environment for profit declared a serious health threat and the welfare of ALL mankind given the highest priority.
Clearly the concerns of the past are relevant in the present. Society still struggles with war, drug law issues, ecological devastation, corporate greed and corrupted politicians whose actions have brought us the conditions we are living with today…all of which the youth of the sixties warned of and resisted nearly fifty years ago.
So here we are. What’s the answer? What do we do now?
Truth is eternal, whether a thousand years or fifty. My hope is that STORM RIDERS: MESSENGERS OF CHANGE transcends time and once again propels the sixties PEACE, LOVE and BROTHERHOOD aspirations onto the forefront as we all continue life’s journey together as one.
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE!