11,227 SEIZED PILLS SET RECORD FOR BUST

The Ecstasy Was Found At Outer Space Storage On U.S. 19. The Man
Renting The Space Was Arrested

NEW PORT RICHEY - A yearlong investigation by drug detectives at the
Pasco County Sheriff's Office has resulted in the largest Ecstasy bust
in the county's history.

Detectives seized 11,227 Ecstasy pills, $700 in cash and a third of a
pound of hydroponically grown marijuana from a Port Richey storage
facility rented by Robert Frederick Ehrhardt.

Shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday, authorities arrested Ehrhardt as he
drove home from a golf game.

Ehrhardt was charged with trafficking in Ecstasy and possession of
marijuana. He was being held at the county jail in Land O'Lakes on
$110,000 bail.

Sheriff's spokesman Jon Powers said the marijuana has a street value
of $300 and the Ecstasy is worth $200,000.

Powers said deputies obtained a search warrant for the storage unit at
Outer Space Storage at 9906 U.S. 19. A drug-sniffing dog named Quik
located the pills and marijuana, Powers said. Some of the pills were
hidden inside a golf bag, he said.

Ecstasy users experience a loss of inhibitions, increased alertness
and euphoria. The drug is very popular among people in their teens and
20s.

This year, Pasco school officials and law enforcement became
well-versed with the drug's lethal potential when Eric Przybyszewski,
17, died from an overdose of Ecstasy. The Ridgewood High School teen
had taken the drug after a night of partying with friends.

According to a study released this week about teen drug use, just over
8 percent of 12th-graders said they had used Ecstasy in the past year,
up from 5.6 percent in 1999. The survey questioned 45,000 students in
eighth, 10th and 12th grades in 435 randomly chosen schools.

Pasco detectives did not know who Ehrhardt's customers were, Powers
said.

In March, a Veteran's Village man was charged with trafficking in
Ecstasy after deputies seized a package of 5,000 pills from his car.