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 April
1, 2003 - The biggest acid lab in the world
Imagine this: You are a diabetic and are off to sail across the Atlantic Ocean. Would you purchase your life-saving Insulin from a convicted drug dealer who has served time in prison? Well, something similar to this situation has been and still is happening on Mount Everest in regards to the oxygen systems that so many climbers’ lives depend upon. The ex-drug dealer turned Everest expedition leader is none other than Scotsman, Henry Todd. In the UK right now there is a court case concerning the wrongful death of a young British Everest climber. One of the things in question is whether or not the climber’s oxygen system was at fault. Henry Todd supplied oxygen to the climber and his entire team in 1999 – expedition members found that six of the bottles Todd supplied did not work. Two climbers on the team did not have any oxygen because the systems malfunctioned high up in Camp IV. A year later in 2000, Todd again supplied oxygen to a husband and wife team that was forced to give up their summit attempt due to a faulty rig that failed at Camp IV. Sub-standard, throughout the years Incidentally, Henry Todd has a history of selling sub-quality products that dates as far back as the 70’s. The Everest expeditions he organizes are the cheapest around. Not only are the oxygen kits he supplies faulty, but limited in number. In 1996 he handed a bloodied oxygen mask that was worn by Texan Beck Weathers to another client just days after Beck almost died during the storm that killed Scott Fisher and Rob Hall. Even back in his drug dealing days of the 70’s, Todd was responsible for peddling second-rate acid brewed in a London basement. A UK organization called the, “Independent Drug Monitoring Group,” donned the LSD operation that Henry Todd was a part of, “the biggest acid lab in the world.” The operation made so much acid that when it was shut down the price of a hit nearly doubled because the supply was so violently cut. Henry Todd, one of the ringleaders, was thought to have helped make 15 million doses of LSD, and banking the profit into Swiss accounts. Todd and his friend, "the chemist," got sentenced to the stiffest sentences in, "Operation Julie," - one of the UK’s largest drug busts ever: 13 years. The world's highest oxygen lab Already in the sixties, Henry Todd was imprisoned for theft and fraud. Then came the drug business in the seventies. By the mid-eighties, Todd was out of prison looking for new ideas of commerce. He set his sights on Mount Everest. Everest is the world’s tallest mountain and attracts dreamers from around the globe. Improved travel logistics and commercial expeditions have made the mountain accessible to a growing number of climbers. Yet one business is overlooked by most. It is the business of oxygen. In the past years, Everest has hosted around 500 climbers yearly, including high altitude sherpas - those climbers and sherpas need oxygen. On average, around 3-6 bottles each: One for C3, another two for C4 and 3-4 for summit day, including spare emergency bottles. One oxygen bottle is around 300 USD. The Everest oxygen business including the surrounding other eight thousand meter peaks generates close to 2 million USD yearly. Tomorrow, Part II - Henry cashes in on fake oxygen, and the problems begin
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