Schaumburg man guilty of dealing look-alike drug

A Schaumburg man faces up to 10 years in prison after admitting plans to sell thousands of pills that looked like the drug ecstasy.

Thavatxay T. Manirat, 34, of the 900 block of Parker Drive, pleaded guilty in Kane County court Wednesday to one count of possession of a look-alike substance with intent to deliver, a Class 3 felony.

Kane County narcotics agents arrested Manirat last August after he agreed to sell them what they believed were 14,000 ecstasy pills for $64,000. Police said Manirat was arrested in a traffic stop after acquiring the pills from an unidentified source, and the arrest coincided with searches carried out in St. Charles and Elgin.

He was re-indicted in April after lab tests determined the pills were actually a synthetic stimulant known as BZP, which was not illegal in Illinois at the time but has since been outlawed, according to prosecutors.

Defense attorney Sandra Byrd said her client is eligible for probation, although he could be face to up to 10 years at sentencing Aug. 24 in front of Judge T. Jordan Gallagher.

Court records show Manirat was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender after being convicted of aggravated criminal sexual assault with a weapon in 1996.

He was being held in the Kane County jail Wednesday.