DRUG SUSPECT REPORTS DEALERS OF ECSTASY, LSD TARGET SAILORS

WOODBINE, Ga. - A drug suspect arrested in a Camden County drug sweep last
weekend said sailors are being targeted as potential customers to purchase
Ecstasy and LSD because the drugs cannot be detected by tests three days
after they are taken. The 19-year-old Jacksonville, Fla., man was one of
seven people arrested during the weekend in a series of raids that netted
238 doses of Ecstasy and 1,025 tabs of LSD, according to the Camden County
Sheriff's Office.

The suspect made the statement from the Camden County jail Monday, at a
news conference called to warn residents that increasing quantities of the
drugs are being seized locally, Sheriff Bill Smith said.

Most of the drugs are coming from the Jacksonville area, he said.

"It's a big problem," Sheriff Smith said. "(Ecstasy and LSD have) taken
over crack cocaine and powder cocaine. This is an appeal to the parents in
the community."

The Jacksonville man who spoke to the media is not among those listed on
arrest reports. Police refused to say why they wouldn't identify the man.

The unidentified suspect, who is charged with possession with a dangerous
drug and possession with intent to distribute, said he volunteered to speak
to reporters to help them understand the effects of the drugs and "to get
the word out to the public."

But a spokesman at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base disputed the suspect's
assertion, saying the Navy tests for all illicit drugs, including LSD and
Ecstasy, and the drugs can be detected within 30 days after they are used.

"You don't generally attribute scruples to drug dealers," said Cmdr. Terry
Evans, a base spokesman. "Ecstasy is checked for like other drugs such as
LSD, cocaine and marijuana."

Officials with the Camden County Sheriff's Office disagreed with Cmdr.
Evans, however, saying the drugs, based on their knowledge, remain
detectable for only three days.

"I'm not a scientist," said William Terrell, a spokesman for the sheriff's
office. "I'm just repeating what our investigators say."

Mr. Terrell said he didn't know dealers were targeting sailors until the
suspect made the statement.

"The sheriff doesn't want this to explode in the county," Mr. Terrell said.
"He is just trying to be pro-active."

Ecstasy and LSD have been found on suspects before, but in the past few
months the quantities have increased, Sheriff Smith said.

Deaths from Ecstasy overdoses are increasing nationwide, he said, but there
have been no reports of Camden County residents hospitalized from
overdoses. That doesn't lessen the dangers, Sheriff Smith said.

Both LSD and Ecstasy are manufactured in conditions where the dose
strengths vary from pill to pill, making it unpredictable for users to
determine how many pills to take, Sheriff Smith said.

Ecstasy sells for about $25 a pill and LSD sells for $10 to $15 a pill,
investigators said. Because of the cost, Ecstasy is used by middle- and
upper-middle-class youths, Sheriff Smith said.

While it's unclear where Ecstasy is manufactured, the suspect said LSD
coming from the Jacksonville area is made by high school students using
ingredients that can be purchased at a supermarket, combined with a mold
that grows on plants.

The suspect said Ecstasy - also known as MDMA - is popular among people
younger than 30 because of the intense emotional sensations it creates,
drug agents said.

Ecstasy, which has killed some users, has side effects that include
dehydration, muscle tension, nausea, convulsions, anxiety and paranoia.

"It's a big problem. (Ecstasy and LSD have) taken over crack cocaine and
powder cocaine. This is an appeal to the parents in the community."- Bill
Smith, sheriff,Camden County, Ga.