CUSTOMS SETS UP UNIT FOR ECSTASY

The U.S. Customs Service, in response to the growing use of the party drug
Ecstasy, has formed a task force in Washington to lead the agency's
investigative and countersmuggling efforts. Top Stories

The Ecstasy Task Force operation will include a canine force of 106
drug-detecting dogs trained to find the drug, all of which have been
assigned to airports and mail and cargo facilities across the country. " In
the past, Ecstasy was most commonly associated with the big city club scene
and popular all-night dance parties known as 'raves,'" acting Customs
Commissioner Charles Winwood recently told Congress. "This is no longer the
case.

"Ecstasy use has spread to bars, college campuses, and high schools and
junior high schools across the country. What began primarily as an urban
threat has now become a national crisis," he said.

Ecstasy, also known by its chemical abbreviation MDMA, has emerged as a
major concern for U.S. law-enforcement officials, due to the health risks
it poses and to its increasing ties to smuggling groups.

Over the last several years, the Customs Service has seized Ecstasy in
record numbers from travelers, cargo and mail packages entering the United
States. In 1999, the agency seized 3.5 milliontablets. That figure jumped
to 9.3 million tablets in 2000. Customs has seized more than 4 million
tablets this year.

Mr. Winwood told Congress that violent crime related to the illegal Ecstasy
trade is also on the rise. He said that while the level of violence
associated with Ecstasy trafficking has not yet reached the same
proportions as the cocaine or heroin trade, it will only grow since demand
for the drug is surging in this country and the worst elements of the
criminal underworld are competing for the profits.

The acting commissioner said that while task force efforts will help the
agency combat the rising tide of Ecstasy use, "We must again appeal to the
public, especially parents, to help us in this fight.