2 drug busts yield arrests in S.L. County

Two drug busts within eight hours in Salt Lake County resulted in the arrest of a man believed to be a rave promoter and seizure of so-called club drugs.

Investigators from Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County made separate busts Thursday and found Ecstasy in each case. In each incident, the key for investigators was tips from residents.

In White City, the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Neighborhood Narcotics Unit arrested a man they believe to be a rave promoter. A warrant was served about 7 a.m. at the house near 9700 South and 1000 East.

Detectives seized 50 tablets of Ecstasy, two bottles of ketamine, 4 pounds of marijuana and 3 pounds of hallucinogenic mushrooms, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Paul Jaroscak. Another bag of "miscellaneous pills" that included OxyContin, morphine and methadone was found.

Police say they also discovered an undisclosed amount of Fentanyl narcotic suckers at the house. The estimated street value of all the drugs was $50,000 to $75,000.

In addition, investigators said they found scales, packaging material and other drug paraphernalia in the house.

Josh Frank Craig, 27, was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of drug possession with intent to distribute. Investigators said posters of rave events from across the western United States were hung around the house, many of which had his name on them.

Ecstasy is commonly associated with the rave culture. Some rave participants, however, say arrests like the one Thursday unfairly portray all rave parties as hangouts for drug use. They say raves are primarily dance parties set to techno music.

While heroin and meth may have been attracting more attention lately, the rave culture, and Ecstasy, never really went away, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Matthews, head of the narcotics unit.

"Law enforcement significantly impacted those parties (two years ago)," Matthews said. "They went further underground. Now I believe the rave parties are on the rise again. We're finding out about them when the raves have already been here and gone. They're so covert."

Charges were also pending Thursday against two other men in connection with the White City bust. The investigation began several weeks ago, thanks to an anonymous tip reporting frequent traffic at the house at all hours.

Earlier this week, Sheriff Jim Winder announced that deputies would now be assigned to patrol White City full time.