Nitrous oxide tanks for sale

LOS ANGELES – Hundreds of law enforcement officers on Friday raided auto parts shops and other businesses suspected of illegally selling nitrous oxide for use as a recreational drug, in what authorities said was the nation's largest such raid ever.

Authorities served search warrants on 17 businesses and nine delivery vehicles during the raids in Orange, Los Angeles and Riverside counties.

Edward Valencia, 51; Federico Valencia, 58; and Rose Marie Cuellar, 20; were arrested on misdemeanor charges of misbranding a drug in violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The Valencia brothers work at Victor Welding Supply in south Los Angeles, and Cuellar works at LA Rush, an auto parts store.

"I'm innocent. I haven't done anything wrong, " Federico Valencia said as he was led out of his shop in handcuffs. "We only sell gases for cars."

It was the second time the shop had been raided. In 2009, authorities spoke with the Valencia brothers and owner William Victor about the sales of nitrous oxide and its popular use as a party drug, according to a federal affidavit.

Victor, 65, also was named in an arrest warrant and was being sought by authorities Friday.

The raids were the result of an 18-month investigation dubbed "No Laughing Matter" by the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

During the operation, federal agents seized 367 tanks or 36, 000 pounds of nitrous oxide with a street value of $20 million, said Andre Birotte Jr., U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.

"Our investigation has revealed and uncovered evidence that many of these shops don't contain any auto supplies at all, just tanks of nitrous oxide, " he said.

The FDA has recently focused on the illegal use of nitrous oxide, and this was its largest case to date, said special agent Lisa Hartsell. Though nitrous oxide, also known as "laughing gas" or "nos, " has long been a rave phenomenon, it has recently grown into wider use, Hartsell said.

"This is a very cheap drug, can be had very easily, it is not a controlled substance, so your big members of the law enforcement community don't have the ability to control it, " she said.

The gas is legally used by dentists for anesthesia, to pressurize whipped cream canisters and to speed up drag racing cars. But authorities say its illegal use has spurred fatal car accidents, rapes and teen deaths – all in the name of a temporary high.

"We believe these individuals are selling this nitrous oxide knowing full well that it's not going to be used to accelerate a race car or for a dental office, it's being used for the party scene, " Birotte said.

If ingested at high levels, nitrous oxide can cause death from lack of oxygen; it can also lead to spasms, convulsions and other health problems. Nitrous oxide is also considered a greenhouse gas and is 310 times more dangerous to the Earth's ozone layer than carbon dioxide, said Joseph Johns, chief of the U.S. attorney's environmental crimes section.

"The amount of gas that was taken off the streets today, is equivalent to one year's worth of carbon dioxide emissions from a small petroleum refinery in the heart of Los Angeles, " Johns said. He said the investigation is ongoing.

"These (raids) are the initial baby steps, " and more charges would likely be filed in the next weeks, Johns said.