POLICE SAY DRUG BUST WILL HIT ECSTASY MARKET HARD

Police say 15,000 methamphetamine tablets seized during a 14-month
undercover operation were destined for the streets of Eastern Ontario
and may have been marketed to youth as the drug ecstasy.

Calling the pill seizure the largest of its kind in OPP history,
investigators said the tablets -- which sell for $10 to $30 each and
featured logos of a star and the Montreal Canadiens -- were among
nearly $2.3 million worth of narcotics seized during the lengthy
investigation that targeted mid-to high-level dealers and suppliers.

"We've heard that some of these pills are being purported as
ecstasy," said OPP Det. Insp. Frank Elbers yesterday following a
press conference announcing the drug seizure.

"We are getting reports of meth in schools, and on the streets, being
used by our youth."

Thirty-five people, including four from Ottawa and one from Gatineau,
have been charged in connection with the operation. In total, police
laid more than 200 charges, involving drug trafficking and
weapons-related offences.

Officers from several police departments conducted raids Tuesday and
Wednesday at residences and businesses across Eastern Ontario and the
Outaouais, including addresses in Ottawa, Gatineau, Buckingham,
Rockland, Alfred and Plantagenet.

Two bars, RJ's Bar in Rockland and the Prescott Tavern in Alfred,
were raided, along with residences on Lola Street and Marchand Street
in Ottawa.

In addition to the meth tablets, police seized seven kilograms of
cocaine, 20 kilograms of marijuana and one kilogram of hashish oil
and magic mushrooms. Police also seized $137,000 in cash, 17
firearms, a sword, crossbow and Taser as well as five cars, including
an Acura Integra and Mercedes Benz.

Det. Insp. Elbers said the project, dubbed Barracuda, involved an
undercover agent who gained the trust of several dealers.

Det. Insp. Elbers said police did not uncover any direct links to
organized crime, but suspect there could be connections.

"I think, historically, when you are dealing kilos and this amount of
meth, at some point in the chain there has to be some kind of
organized crime connection," said Det. Insp. Elbers.

He said the quantity of methamphetamine was the biggest concern to
police, who encouraged parents to become aware of the dangers
associated with the "highly addictive" drug.

Ottawa police drug section Staff Sgt. Marc Pinault said city police
have seen a steady increase in the number of tablets believed to be
ecstasy, otherwise known as MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine),
coming back from drug tests as methamphetamine.

"There's already a market for" ecstasy, said Staff Sgt. Pinault. "The
real reason is it is easier and cheaper to make methamphetamine than
it is to make MDMA."

Louise Logue, co-ordinator of the youth intervention and diversion
program with the Ottawa police, said methamphetamine is a dirtier
drug, often made up of harsher chemicals than ecstasy, although both
are equally addictive and dangerous.

"One is more potent than the other in its triggers of behaviours in
the user," said Ms. Logue, adding ecstasy tends to offer a more
euphoric sensation, while methamphetamine offers a more tense high
that generally lasts longer.

"The dealer makes big bucks, the user suffers the consequences and
the community is left to pick up the pieces."

Among those from the Ottawa area charged were Ziad Barakat, 26,
Mohammad Al-Balsheh, 26 and Stephane Provost, 33, of Ottawa for
trafficking cocaine. Police said Blaise Howse, 23, of Ottawa and
Robert Clement, 38, of Gatineau are wanted on similar charges.