ECSTASY TARGET OF CUSTOMS

Canada and U.S. Customs are creating a task force -- which will
include spy planes -- to target drug runners smuggling Ecstasy into
the U.S. by boat.

"We're getting a lot of Ecstasy from Canada by boat," said U.S.
Customs special agent Jerry Sullivan. "We have a large Ecstasy problem
and much of it is coming from Canada."

"Smuggling is a concern because of the vastness of our marine border,"
he said. Customs officers said smugglers have been forced to use
speedboats and other vessels to sneak Ecstasy into the U.S. following
police crackdowns at Pearson and other Canadian airports.

The pills, which retail for about $35 each, are manufactured in
Holland and Germany for a fraction of a price and resold for huge
profits at raves in North America.

Sullivan said the need of a task force became a priority after 20
agencies from both sides of the border on Wednesday wrapped up a
week-long surveillance operation of the waterways, called Operation
Prelude. U.S. spy planes and helicopters flew for hours in Canadian
airspace over Lakes Ontario and Erie.