OSI agents help with historic drug seizure

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MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) --  With less than one month on the job, a special agent with Detachment 311 of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations here answered a call from a Drug Enforcement Administration detective in Jacksonville, Fla. What he had to tell OSI agents ultimately culminated in the largest single narcotics seizure in Department of Defense history, OSI officials said.

The detective said that twice during the previous week, an undercover informant had purchased Ecstasy pills from two individuals known only to him as “Jody” and his girlfriend, “Tara.” DEA agents ran the license plate of “Jody’s” vehicle and determined his real name was John Fredenburg. They also discovered he was an active-duty Airman stationed here.

Special Agent “David” did a quick search of the base personnel roster and determined the senior airman was assigned to the 347th Aerospace Maintenance Squadron as a helicopter crew chief.

The detective told Agent David there was a meeting arranged for the following week where Airman Fredenburg was to sell the DEA informant 250 Ecstasy pills.

“We knew we had to act decisively, but covertly,” Agent David said. “We weren’t sure how much time we’d have before he got suspicious. If he found out we were watching him, the operation would be over, and he’d likely destroy whatever remaining stash he had hidden away -- that option was unacceptable.”

Detachment agents watched Airman Fredenburg’s activities. Agent David and Special Agent “Jason” learned Airman Fredenburg had previously been assigned to the 86th Maintenance Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. This information coincided with the theory that he had smuggled a large quantity of Ecstasy into the country, and fueled speculation that he might be part of a larger smuggling operation.

“We were really concerned about the smuggling angle,” Agent Jason said. “While Moody certainly is no airlift hub, we’re in close proximity to several other bases in the Southeast. We weren’t sure if he was conspiring with other members, or if he was acting alone. It was absolutely vital we obtain as much information during the preliminary investigation as possible.”

At a meeting between OSI and the DEA agents working the case, roles were defined and the blueprint for an operation was drafted.

“We took the lead role on all matters relating directly to the Air Force,” said Special Agent “Terry,” Det. 311 superintendent. “All investigative work in (the local area) was ours, while the DEA agreed to primarily handle the next buys, since it was their informant.”

After more surveillance, OSI agents learned that Airman Fredenburg had returned to Germany twice since arriving here six months earlier. Additionally, an immigration and customs database revealed a package from Germany addressed to Airman Fredenburg had been intercepted at Miami International Airport’s mail-screening facility. The package contained more than an ounce of powdered cocaine.

“At this point in the investigation, we really became concerned and realized we were likely dealing with something a little larger than your typical drug dealer whose primary motive is hooking up his buddies,” Agent David said.

Airman Fredenburg conducted another controlled Ecstasy sale to the DEA informant at a rest stop on the Georgia and Florida state line. This time, though, Airman Fredenburg was under more comprehensive surveillance. Based on that surveillance, a grand jury subpoena was executed by OSI and DEA agents on a safe-deposit box in a Valdosta, Ga., bank. The records revealed Airman Fredenburg had accessed the box within 24 hours of each of the controlled purchases.

A buy/bust operation was then planned. The DEA informant scheduled a buy of 1,000 pills for $9,000 in Jacksonville. Agents followed Airman Fredenburg from his home in Hahira and followed him to Jacksonville Beach where the deal was scheduled to take place. Airman Fredenburg dropped off "Tara" to conduct the deal and went to her nearby apartment to wait for her.

Once the undercover informant gave the signal, a take-down team rushed in and arrested Tara Roberts. Another take-down team followed Airman Fredenburg to the apartment where he was apprehended.

“It was a long ride back to the office (with Airman Fredenburg),” Agent Jason said. “He wasn’t really sure what kind of trouble he was in, but I don’t think he knew the full extent of our knowledge of his activities.”

Agents interviewed Airman Fredenburg. After his repeated denials, agents confronted him with their extensive knowledge of his activities, and he then confessed.

“Once we started hitting him with the facts and showing that we knew a great deal of what he was doing, he thought it would be best to cooperate rather than try to continue his lies,” Agent Jason said. “He was really concerned about the extent of trouble Tara was in -- but we reminded him that his main concern needed to be for himself, not her.”

Airman Fredenburg admitted to selling to the DEA informant and another individual. He told agents that he had sold around 3,500 pills and still had around 16,000 in his safe-deposit box in Valdosta. He claimed he bought 20,000 pills from an “unknown white guy” in Valdosta shortly after moving to the area. He also said he had used Ms. Roberts as an intermediary, and that she had arranged and conducted all of the buys, except for one, where he had done the actual hand-to-hand exchange. Besides his signed confession, Airman Fredenburg gave consent to search his two safe-deposit boxes and home.

Search teams in Valdosta uncovered more than 16,000 Ecstasy pills in a safe-deposit box. In the Hahira safe-deposit box they found $40,000 in cash. At his home, agents seized several loose Ecstasy pills, an ounce of methamphetamine, $10,000 in cash and an assault rifle. That same day, agents also seized three motor vehicles, a motorcycle and uncovered evidence that indicated Airman Fredenburg had tens of thousands of dollars in numerous investment accounts.

While the searches and interview of Airman Fredenburg were happening, Special Agent “Chris” secured key testimony from Ms. Roberts before her booking in the Duval County Jail. She implicated Airman Fredenburg and was willing to fully cooperate once she realized she was facing 10 years in federal prison.

“We literally had about 15 minutes during the drive to her first court appearance to talk to her,” Agent Chris said about Ms. Robert’s brief interview. “During that time, (we) were able to get enough information from her to corroborate the mounting evidence against (Airman Fredenburg). We were very, very fortunate.”

The following day, OSI conducted another, more detailed, consent search of Airman Fredenburg’s house. During that search, agents uncovered what they said was likely the most surprising and unsettling discovery of the case. In the bedroom, agents discovered printed Internet instructions for manufacturing methamphetamine. Then, agents found Pyrex cookware, several bottles of Ether, hundreds of Psuedoephedrine tablets, and numerous other items -- all indicators Airman Fredenburg was on his way to manufacturing his own narcotics.

“We couldn’t believe that the Ecstasy wasn’t enough for this kid. He was going to strike out on his own with Ms. Roberts and manufacture his own meth,” Agent Terry said.

Airman Fredenburg claimed Ms. Roberts was addicted to meth, and she convinced him they should make their own, rather than buy it. He also claimed they had never actually gone through with their plan.

Still, the agents said it seemed as though there was more.

“We thought we had a great case against him, but some of the lies he’d thrown at us just didn’t make sense,” Agent Jason said.

As part of his pretrial agreement, Airman Fredenburg had to offer his confession to OSI and DEA agents. That is when the whole story began to unfold. In early December, with his lawyer present, he said he smuggled 20,000 Dutch Ecstasy pills in his household goods shipment from Germany, hidden away in a speaker. He also said he extensively used narcotics while stationed in Germany and implicated another Airman here, who is still awaiting trial for using Ecstasy.

“Once we got his proffer confession, we knew we finally had the whole story,” Agent Jason said. “He … saw an opportunity to make a lot of money selling Ecstasy when he returned to the United States. For him, it was purely financial.”

A military judge sentenced Airman Fredenburg to 10 years confinement, demotion to E-1, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and a dishonorable discharge. Ms. Roberts is currently serving three years in the federal prison system. (Courtesy of Air Force OSI Public Affairs)