Prosecutors dropped federal charges last week against a Whitfield county man arrested during Operation Meth Merchant.
Ringgold attorney Ken Poston said he demanded the dismissal because Sidhharath Patel was wrongly identified in the case.
U.S. District Court Judge Harold Murphy signed an order to dismiss criminal charges against Patel late Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Rome, Ga.
“Operation Meth Merchant”, a federal, state, and local investigation targeted businesses in six Northwest Georgia counties that were allegedly selling large amounts of ingredients used to make methamphetamine.
“I can finally call my new bride and tell her that it is finally over,” Patel said.
The 20-year-old American citizen was arrested at an airport in New Jersey on July 18, 2005 as he returned from his wedding in his native India, and was held for twelve days in various facilities in New Jersey, Oklahoma and Georgia, Poston said in a written statement.
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attorney said the defendant was working in a Subway sandwich shop in Hicksville, N.Y. on July 23, 2004, when government agents claimed he was in a Varnell, Ga. convenience store selling matches, Coleman fuel and other items the government said can be used to manufacture meth.
“In prosecuting our cases, we continually assess the available evidence on each defendant,” said David Nahmias, U.S. attorney for Georgia’s Northern District office. “If we determine based on the evidence available at the time that the charged defendant may have been misidentified or that a dismissal otherwise serves the interests of justice, we promptly dismiss the charges; that is what we have done regarding three defendants.”
The charges against Malvika Patel (no relation to Sidhharath) were also dropped when she was incorrectly identified as selling meth-making materials at Tobacco for Less in Fort Oglethorpe. Her attorneys produced evidence that she was picking up her child from daycare at the time of the incident. Poston also represented Malvika.
Both Malvika and Sidhharath Patel, along with Malvika’s husband Chirag “Chris” Patel, were falsely accused by the same undercover government informant, one with a history of fraudulent acts and criminal convictions, Poston said.
This makes the third citizen of Indian heritage that was misidentified by the same undercover informant who was utilized in almost all of the government’s “Operation Meth Merchant” cases, Poston said.
“These individuals were completely innocent and were nowhere around the location of the alleged criminal activity,” Poston said.
Of the 49 people indicted in the operation, 43 are of Indian descent.
Poston questioned the continued use of this particular informant, who according to Poston has “wrought so much pain and suffering on innocent families” with his “at best negligent and irresponsible, and at worst maliciously reckless attempts at identifying suspects.”
The informant, according to Poston, was paid by the government for his services. A federal protective order sought by the government restricts anyone from revealing the name of the informant.
“The Meth Merchant’s investigation was initiated based on information from members of the public and cooperating individuals regarding sales of products used to manufacture methamphetamine that is causing great damage to our communities,” Nahmias said. ”The investigation has followed the evidence wherever it has led, and it will continue to do so.”
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, the remaining Meth Merchant cases have had pre-trial hearings and will continue.
Just as in the cases of Malvika and Chris Patel, the government did not issue an apology to Sidhharath Patel, Poston added.
“An apology to all of them and their families would be nice, and I think they deserve it,” said Poston, “ultimately, however, the dismissals are th e most important things, and we have obtained that.”
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