KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A federal grand jury indicted three men last week for participating in a conspiracy to manufacture and distribute more than $1 million worth of GHB, an illegal date-rape drug.

The indictment is part of the nationwide Operation Webslinger investigation that targeted the illegal Internet trafficking of date-rape drugs, U.S. Attorney Todd Graves said.

Travis J. Swingle, 33, of Kansas City, Mo., Paul L. Schleicher, 30, of Harrisonville, Mo., and Andrew M. Schulze, 28, of Concordia, Mo., were charged in a 35-count indictment returned July 1, 2004. The indictment was unsealed this week after the defendants were arrested.

The indictment alleges the men were part of a conspiracy that imported chemicals from Canada in order to manufacture GHB. The men are also accused of distributing the date-rape drug in 2001 and 2002.

Operation Webslinger is a nationwide investigation that targeted individuals and organizations supplying large quantities of chemicals used to make date-rape drugs ordered over the Internet and delivered by mail. During a 30-day period, more than $3 million in orders were placed on the investigated Web sites.

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Operation Webslinger