By Arun Kumar

Washington, Aug 5 (IANS) The American Civil Liberties Union 
(ACLU) is looking at ways to defend dozens of Indian and South 
Asian merchants after a judge in Atlanta rejected its argument 
that a drug sting unfairly targeted them while ignoring white-owned 
stores.

At hearings and in motions, ACLU reminded US District Judge 
Harold Murphy that 44 of the 49 retail clerks and convenience 
store owners in north-west Georgia indicted were South Asians, 
many sharing the last name Patel.

They also called to the stand John Edward Ross, who claimed he 
overheard an agent say he planned to close Indian stores down 
because the owners did not speak English, according to local media 
reports.

But Murphy refused to throw out the cases against them suggesting 
the defence lacks even basic evidence showing discrimination, citing 
a magistrate judge's earlier order that said allowing the group a 
chance to dig through more evidence would be authorising a "fishing 
expedition".

He also threw out Ross' testimony, along with the written 
statements of two other witnesses citing a previous ruling that 
"simply pointing out that most of the individual defendants are of 
Indian national origin is insufficient".

ACLU claims the operation was racially biased because 23 of the 24 
stores targeted by the investigation are owned by those of Indian 
and other South Asian origin, while more than 80 percent of 
convenience stores in the area are owned by whites or other ethnic 
groups.

The sting operation targeted almost 20 percent of South 
Asian-owned stores but less than 0.2 percent of stores owned by 
whites or other ethnic groups, ACLU charged. That means South 
Asian stores were 100 times more likely to be targeted than other 
stores, it said.

Dubbed Meth Merchant, it began in early 2004 when 15 undercover 
agents were sent to small grocery stores, tobacco shops and delis in 
six north-west Georgia counties seeking to buy items such as cold 
medicine, cooking fuel, and matchbooks, all of which are legal 
products.

The informants would mention that they needed "to cook", which, 
according to authorities, was sufficient to indicate that South 
Asian clerks, many with limited English-language proficiency and 
none familiar with meth manufacturing slang, knew they were selling 
items to be used in cooking the popular stimulant, ACLU said.