'ECSTASY' PROBE NETS 65 ARRESTS

Police Say Ring Had Ties To Las Vegas, Miami, Netherlands

A two-year investigation has culminated in more than 65 arrests and the
dismantling of a major ring distributing the drug "ecstasy" in North
Dallas, Plano and the surrounding area, authorities said.

The ring, which distributed drugs in area nightclubs, had ties to
trafficking organizations in Miami, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas,
officials said Tuesday at a news conference in Dallas.

The ring also distributed cocaine and gamma hydroxybutyrate, the so-called
date-rape drug known as GHB, authorities said.

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Thirteen people who were arrested Tuesday were among those accused of
helping to distribute drugs in area clubs, officials said.

Those arrested include residents of Dallas, The Colony, Rowlett, Addison,
Plano and Richardson.

Officials said earlier arrests included people higher in the distribution
chain.

"This is a good day for Dallas and the surrounding area, and a tough day
for those people who would conspire to deliver drugs, " said Dallas Police
Chief Terrell Bolton.

The investigation, which began in January 2000, was a joint effort of the
Dallas Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other
agencies. It netted large quantities of ecstasy, cocaine, steroids and
firearms and more than $600,000 in cash, officials said.

Authorities said investigators determined that tablets of ecstasy were
being imported from the Netherlands and distributed nationwide.

At one time, the ring was bringing about 100,000 tablets a week into the
area, said Dallas police Deputy Chief John Martinez, who supervises the
narcotics division. The average street price for a tablet of ecstasy is
about $20, officials said.

Chief Martinez said that he did not think authorities had eradicated sales
of ecstasy in the area but that they had put a "damper on their operations."

"A lot of kids don't think ... [ecstasy is] dangerous, but it is," Chief
Martinez said.