EASY ACCESS TO CHEMICALS FUELS DRUG TRADE: RCMP

Ecstasy Most Popular

Clandestine labs that produce trendy party drugs such as Ecstasy and
methamphetamine are flourishing in Canada due to the lack of government
regulation over the sale of chemicals, according to an RCMP intelligence
report.

The chemical ingredients used to manufacture illicit designer drugs are
openly available in Canada and sales have increased as the popularity of
the tablets has grown among youth, says the report released under the
Access to Information Act.

Because Canada lacks legislation controlling the sale of chemicals, U.S.
crime syndicates have been coming north to buy their ingredients from
Canadian distributors, the report says. In some cases, they also
manufacture the drugs here before shipping them back to the United States.

"Of concern are the increasing reports of suspicious purchases of chemical
precursors," the report says. "The popularity of synthetic drugs, notably
Ecstasy, is growing. Demands for the precursors required to manufacture
these substances is increasingly accordingly."

The report says if Canada brought in regulations to control the sale of the
chemical ingredients used to make such designer drugs as Ecstasy and PCP,
it would be easier for police to detect secret drug labs and take action
against them and their suppliers.

"The domestic purchase and sale of chemical precursors are not regulated in
Canada. As a result, traffickers are able to purchase the ingredients
openly from legitimate distributors," it says.

"Regulations pertaining to the sale of precursors would justify police
measures when irregularities occur. Regulations would also foster a greater
co-operation between police and legitimate chemical distributors and assist
in developing a more proactive approach to the detection of clandestine
laboratory operations."

Ecstasy, which the report describes as the "preferred chemical drug among
adolescents and young adults," is manufactured in Canada by outlaw
motorcycle gangs, particularly in Quebec, attracted by the huge profits. A
tablet that costs 50c to make sells for up to $40. Sixteen deaths in
Ontario alone have been attributed to the drug since 1999.

But most of the Ecstasy consumed in Canada is imported from Belgium and the
Netherlands. Last year, 1.5 million pills were seized by Canadian customs
agents, up from 400,000 in 1999, 70,000 in 1998 and 10,000 in 1997, the
report said.

"Foreign criminal groups with counterparts in Canada and the U.S. import
from Europe large single shipments by air freight or multi-kilo shipments
by courier," it says.

The smuggling is done by bikers and Asian gangs. American Ecstasy couriers
use Canada as a transit point, the report says; they fly to Montreal and
Toronto from Europe and then travel by land to the United States.

One of the largest Ecstasy seizures in Canada took place in Montreal last
month when more than 200,000 tablets with a street value of $7-million were
discovered hidden aboard a German ship. The illicit cargo was destined for
a Toronto textiles company.

The report says PCP, used mainly in Quebec, is manufactured by bikers in
Quebec City, while methamphetamines are found mostly in the West. Also
popular is GHB, a date rape drug popular at all-night dance parties called
raves. "Police expect the demand for this substance will increase
considerably in the near future."

The report, dated Dec. 6, was written by the RCMP's Criminal Intelligence
Directorate in Ottawa.