By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

NEW ORLEANS – A 24-year-old LaPlace man is one of three men charged in a two-count federal indictment involving a drug trafficking conspiracy after the three were caught at Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie with almost 1,000 tablets of ecstacy, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s office.

Lionell Adams of LaPlace joins Minh Tran, 24, of New Orleans and Joseph Sanders, 30, of Jackson, Miss., on the indictment, which was handed down by a grand jury in New Orleans Thursday. The three men were charged with drug trafficking and possession with intent to distribute ecstacy.

According to the indictment, agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration used a confidential source to set up a deal that ultimately led to the arrest of the three men. A sworn affidavit from DEA agent Chad Scott indicated the informant contacted Adams on Jan. 31 and arranged to buy the tablets for $5,000. The following day, the two men met in the parking lot of Lakeside Shopping Center in Metairie.

The affidavit stated that during the initial meeting, Adams told the confidential source he was waiting on his supplier, who was later identified as Tran. A short time later, Tran and Sanders showed up in the parking lot in separate vehicles.

As the men negotiated a price for the drugs, DEA agents moved in and arrested all three suspects.

The agents found one tablet on Adams and 939 more in the glove compartment of Tran’s car. Investigators also found 24 grams of cocaine and other drug paraphernalia in Sanders’ vehicle.

If convicted, the defendants face a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, at least six years probation following release and a $1 million fine.