ECSTASY BUST COMES RIGHT BEFORE RAVE

Authorities made the biggest Ecstasy bust ever in Dane County two days
before the first rave at the Alliant Energy Center since New Year's Eve.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Dane County Narcotics
and Gang Task Force seized 1,000 tablets of MDMA, commonly known as
Ecstasy, before a drug deal involving an undercover police officer Thursday
night.

``We received information that the individual was distributing Ecstasy in
the area and he agreed to deliver 1,000 hits to a person who was an
undercover agent,'' Jean Hehr, the resident agent in charge of the Madison
DEA office, said Friday.

Hehr said she hoped the arrest sends a warning to parents about the dangers
of Ecstasy and the links between the drug and raves like the one being held
tonight at the Alliant center.

``It's significant that this quantity was available right before a rave
party here in Dane County,'' Hehr said.

The street value of the Ecstasy seized was about $25,000. The pills are
commonly sold for about $25 a hit, she said.

Nicholas L. Beese, 18, of 709 Ondossagon Way, was charged with felony
delivery of Ecstasy. Beese had been arrested in November by Madison police
for possession of Ecstasy after he was searched following a traffic stop,
according to court records. A police officer discovered six pills in his
pants pocket that later tested positive for MDMA, authorities said.

Beese is scheduled for a plea hearing May 4 in the case.

Hehr noted Beese's young age and said the majority of Ecstasy users are
between 16 and 24. Agents don't know how much Beese may have sold in the
area but it was relatively easy for an agent to organize a transaction of
1,000 pills, Hehr said.

She also said that agents will investigate where the pills came from,
noting that most of the Ecstasy seized in the United States has been
produced in the Netherlands. The pills seized in Madison had the word
``chanel'' stamped on them.

Beese remained in the Dane County Jail Friday night without bail.