AUTHORITIES LINK EX-SEAL TO ECSTASY DRUG RING

NORFOLK -- A former Navy SEAL convicted of trying to make the drug Ecstasy
in his oven has now been linked to a trio of suspected Ecstasy dealers
arrested two weeks ago.

At a federal court hearing Monday during which Daniel Heath Hansen pleaded
guilty to conspiring to distribute Ecstasy, prosecutors said they learned
of Hansen through Gregory F. Fowler, the former SEAL caught trying to bake
Ecstasy in his Chesapeake kitchen while his 2-year-old son stood nearby.

Hansen, 27, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute Ecstasy. He faces a
maximum of 20 years in prison but likely will serve less time depending, in
part, on how much he cooperates with authorities.

A plea agreement filed in court states that Hansen has agreed to testify
against co-defendants Tim Paul Douros, 38, the accused ringleader of the
Ecstasy network, and Charles Atilla Bacs, 31, another suspect in the case.

Hansen, Douros and Bacs were indicted two weeks ago after a lengthy
investigation by federal agents into the club drug. Agents infiltrated
several nightclubs where Douros sponsored raves, or dance parties, and
allegedly sold Ecstasy. The indictment said Douros sold more than 10,000
Ecstasy tablets between January 2000 and February 2001, using Hansen and
Bacs as distributors.

Hansen said little during Monday's hearing, answering U.S. District Judge
Henry C. Morgan's questions with "Yes, sir" and "No, sir."

He had no family members present. His lawyer, Kim M. Crump, declined to
comment afterward. Hansen remains in jail.

The cases highlight the small but intricate ring of Ecstasy dealers in the
region where the club drug has gained in popularity in recent years,
according to federal drug enforcement agents. It was in the middle of the
Fowler investigation that agents learned of Hansen, Douros and Bacs.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Tayman told Morgan that Fowler introduced an
undercover Navy investigator to Hansen on Oct. 12 for the purpose of
obtaining Ecstasy. The same day, according to the indictment, Hansen sold
50 light-blue Ecstasy tabs for $900 to an undercover agent behind the Toys
R Us store on Military Highway in Norfolk.

Tayman said a number of Ecstasy sales followed through October and into
November. Undercover agents and informants bought hundreds of pills from
Hansen for $12 to $20 each, according to the indictment.

The prices dropped as the number of pills purchased increased. Typically,
buyers resell the pills for $25 to $35 each.

Tayman and federal agents declined to provide any further details after the
court hearing.

Fowler was arrested in late October after federal agents raided his home in
the 500 block of Foxgate Quarter in Chesapeake. They found what they
described in court papers as an Ecstasy laboratory with the drug baking in
the oven.

Since his arrest, Fowler was kicked out of the Navy after testing positive
for Ecstasy. He and his girlfriend, Sommer K. Washburn, have since pleaded
guilty in federal court to drug conspiracy charges. Fowler will be
sentenced Feb. 28 and Washburn on April 2.

Reach Tim McGlone at tmcglone@pilotonline.com or 446-2343.