TWO REFUSED BAIL AFTER RECORD ECSTASY HAUL

Two men have been refused bail in a Sydney court over what is believed to
be Australia's largest ecstasy seizure.

271,000 tablets of the drug were discovered in a shipping container in Sydney.

Customs officials found 105 kilograms of ecstasy in a container in a
shipment of wine from France late last month.

The drugs have an estimated street value of $13.5 million.

Two men appeared in Sydney's Parramatta local court this morning over the
seizure, 52-year-old Australian man Bruce Anthony Ridgeway and 54-year-old
James Linaker Neale from Britain.

Both are charged with aiding in the importation of a prohibited narcotic
and drug possession.

They are scheduled to reappear in Sydney's Central Local Court on Monday.

Customs Minister Amanda Vanstone says there is concern at rumours that
tablets in Europe are being laced with rat poison or powdered glass, making
them extremely dangerous.

But she says there is no solid evidence those tablets have arrived in
Australia.

"We don't have advise that the drugs laced with stomach bleeders, to give a
bigger hit for less drugs."