Ketamine, Prostitution and Money: Details of a Secret DEA Probe of Jeffrey Epstein
A Department of Justice document combined with interviews reveal that a long-running investigation into organized crime led law enforcement to suspect the serial sex abuser of money laundering, distributing ‘club drugs’ and operating a prostitution ring.
The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration opened an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and a dozen other individuals in 2015 that centered on allegations of money laundering, drug trafficking and the procurement of Eastern European prostitutes for high-profile clients, according to five people familiar with the case.
The investigation, which grew out of a longstanding probe into organized crime, was conducted by a secretive intelligence and law enforcement unit of the DEA and a transnational crime-fighting task force. It began after an informant told authorities that Epstein was involved in the illicit funding and distribution of so-called club drugs, including ecstasy, ketamine and methamphetamines, according to the people, who asked not to be named to discuss sensitive law enforcement matters.