ECSTASY RAIDS COLLAR SEVEN

Police Say Ring Manufactured Drug In Secret Labs

Seven people face a string of drug-related charges in an alleged
ecstasy-manufacturing ring Toronto police say was capable of producing
millions of dollars worth of the popular drug.

Warrants have been issued for two others, a man and a woman, both in their 20s.

Although just four ounces of MDMA powder - pure, uncut ecstasy - was
seized, police say they have confiscated enough chemicals to manufacture
200,000 ecstasy tablets, worth an estimated $4 million to $7.5 million on
the street.

Ecstasy is an amphetamine-based stimulant. Clandestine labs, shifted from
one location to another, were capable of producing a kilogram of MDMA every
two days, police allege in a case synopsis.

Charges against the seven, all of whom are in their 20s and unemployed,
include conspiracy to manufacture and distribute the drug and possession of
the proceeds of crime.

It's alleged the ring is run by a 25-year-old Toronto man who was arrested
at his mother's home during dawn raids at 15 locations across Toronto and
York Region last Thursday.

Five other men and one woman were also taken into custody in the Project
Ecstasy raids, which were led by the clandestine lab unit of Toronto police
special investigation services and involved 50 officers from Toronto, Peel
and York. Officers from the unit spent two years looking into the alleged ring.

Police from the lab unit, wearing protective suits and breathing masks,
raided three labs - one an upscale, rented farmhouse in rural Markham and
two other labs in the Toronto area.

Police have recently made a number of large ecstasy busts but until now had
made little progress rooting out the local sources.

By last night, all seven of the accused had been granted bail that ranged
from $150,000 for the group's alleged ringleader to $2,500.

Police are expected to provide more details today.

With files from Dale Anne Freed