TWO INDICTED IN SEPARATE ECSTASY DISTRIBUTION CASES

Federal authorities in Memphis said Tuesday they have indicted two people
in separate cases involving the distribution of Ecstasy, including a Dutch
woman arrested at the airport with almost 7 pounds of the popular club drug.

The two indictments are among six by a federal grand jury here in the past
six months against Ecstasy distributors, an indication of the drug's
growing presence in Memphis, a federal prosecutor said.

Both defendants, James Vandergriff of Memphis and Dorothy Ingrid Leijen of
Amsterdam, are scheduled to be arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate J.
Daniel Breen.

Their hearings come as police identified Kristy C. Mullins of Corinth,
Miss., and Joshua Edward Robbins of Cordova as the teenagers who died this
week after taking what they believed was Ecstasy. Both were 17.

According to a police report, Mullins and three friends from Corinth bought
six Ecstasy pills for $180 at a Midtown nightclub Saturday night.

The friends told police they intended to take the pills and smoke marijuana
they had purchased in Corinth, the police report said.

Two hours after taking the pills, Mullins, a junior at Alcorn Central High
School, began vomiting and bleeding and foaming from her mouth and nose.
Her friends took her to Magnolia Hospital near Corinth. She was then
airlifted to the Regional Medical Center at Memphis where she died shortly
before 1 p.m. Sunday.

Less than 24 hours later, Robbins died in the emergency room of Saint
Francis Hospital, also after taking Ecstasy.

Police offered few details about where Robbins got the drug or when he took it.

Investigators were awaiting toxicology reports on both teenagers to
determine what killed them and if the pills were contaminated.

Mullins and her three friends went to a club identified in a police report
as the Back Street Club, at 2108 Court.

At the club, Mullins's friend told police he met a man he knew only as
Gregory. He said he had known Gregory about four months and had bought
Ecstasy from him before.

Although Robbins and Mullins didn't know each other, police said Monday
they may both have gotten a bad batch of Ecstasy.

First manufactured in 1912, Ecstasy is the common name for a synthetic drug
made from ingredients that vary widely. In the past decade, Ecstasy has
become a popular drug associated with the weekend nightclub scene. It
usually is a colored tablet, often stamped with a logo or image.

Ecstasy heightens sensitivity to light and sound and stimulates pleasant
feelings. But it can also cause a variety of dangers, ranging from
dehydration to heart or kidney failure.

Because it is a synthetic drug, it can also be contaminated with toxic
substances.

Asst. U.S. Atty. Stuart Canale, the prosecutor who handles federal drug
cases for West Tennessee, said much of the Ecstasy in the Memphis area is
believed to come from Europe, specifically Amsterdam.

Last week, Leijen was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly
boarding a flight March 22 in Amsterdam, where she lives, and flying
directly to Memphis with 3.1 kilograms of Ecstasy. At 2.2 pounds per
kilogram, that's almost seven pounds, amounting to thousands of pills.

Leijen was allegedly carrying the drug on her when a customs agent at
Memphis International Airport noticed something suspicious and called for a
search.

It's not an isolated case, Canale said.

"We have had several cases where it's been intercepted before it actually
ever hit the street. So we can show that the connection came directly from
Amsterdam," he said.

The same day that Leijen was indicted, the grand jury indicted Vandergriff
for possession with intent to distribute Ecstasy. He's accused of trying to
sell 100 pills to an undercover federal agent in January.

If convicted, Leijen and Vandergriff each face up to 20 years in prison.

Both remained in federal custody Wednesday.

Canale said the amount of Ecstasy coming into Memphis parallels the
increasing popularity of the drug, often taken in combination with other
drugs, such as marijuana and cocaine.

Canale is preparing for laws that will go into effect in May that will
increase the federal penalties for distributing Ecstasy.

The sentence will still depend on the amount involved. But instead of
basing the sentence on weight standards related to marijuana, the new
guidelines will make the penalty for dealing Ecstasy "more in line with
powder cocaine" sentences.

State sentences are also going up in July. Dealing 100 grams or more of
Ecstasy will bring a sentence of 15 to 60 years instead of 8 to 30 years.