DEADLY DRUG DEALS THE DARK UNDERBELLY OF CLUB CULTURE

The brutal slayings in Amsterdam are a million miles from the
love-happy world of Ireland's pill-popping clubbers, writes Cormac
O'Keeffe.

Few people going clubbing this weekend will be thinking about the
murders of three young Irishmen in Holland.

Many may have read about the young men from Co. Tipperary and Co.
Clare who were tortured and executed over an apparent drug feud or
drug debt with international criminals.

But users of dance drugs, like ecstasy, will not make any personal
connection between the brutal murders and their own hedonistic lifestyles.

This is despite the fact that the majority of the pills they take come
from Holland, mostly through trafficking syndicates headed by
prominent Irish criminals based there.

It is even possible that some clubbers here may have taken a tablet
that came from the trio's laboratory-come-flat in Schevenigen.

The violent and deadly world of drug dealing has always been the dark
underbelly of club culture. It's a million miles from the happy,
peaceful and loved-up world of ecstasy users. Clubbers just want to
get their hands on good quality pills and get nutted with their mates.
They are either blissfully ignorant of the nature of the supply chain
or have no major ethical problem in effectively giving money to
violent gangs.

``You don't think of that kind of thing, of dealers killing each
other,'' said Niamh, a regular ecstasy user. ``You only see the guy
who you're buying it off and he's usually a friend or a friend of a
friend.''

The only way the deaths of the three men would affect ecstasy users is
if the supply route collapses under police investigation and the
availability of the drug on the street dries up. But considering the
quantities being produced and the sheer number of suppliers any
shortage is usually brief. The demand is too great and the profits too
large.

A number of factors have led to an upsurge in the popularity of
ecstasy and its sister drugs, amphetamine and cocaine, in Ireland in
the last three years. The Celtic Tiger has put more money into the
pockets of the youth. Dance music continues to become ever more
popular and more mainstream. And suppliers have boosted production to
create and meet the demand.

The popularity of ecstasy has also jumped following the arrival of a
new tablet in 1998. Mitsubishis, named after the car because of the
logo printed on the tablet, broke the mould. They were pure, strong
and most importantly consistent, a quality ecstasy tablets had always
lacked.

Indeed, tests carried out by the State's Forensic Laboratory last year
showed that Mitsubishis were 100% MDMA. Mitsubishis entered ecstasy
folklore as one of the best tablets ever.

Mitsubishis began to vary in quality as 1999 wore on but they have
remained popular among many users. They are now joined by other pills,
such as scorpions, 007s and windmills.

Popularity is also reflected by garda seizures. In 1996, a mere 23,000
tablets were seized. By 1998, over 600,000 tablets were confiscated by
gardai. While seizures do not necessarily reflect availability, the
sheer quantity suggests at least some increase in usage.

Falling prices support this view. Ecstasy can now be bought for pounds
5 a pop, although it still often costs pounds 10. At the beginning of
the 1990s, it would have cost pounds 25. Amphetamine has also fallen
to pounds 5 a gram, while cocaine can be bought for pounds 50 to
pounds 70 a gram, a 50% fall in just a couple of years.

A recent survey by the Eastern Health Board and the European
Commission suggested that five per cent of Dublin teenagers had taken
ecstasy. A survey carried out last year in University College Dublin
suggested that almost a third of students had taken the drug. Given
the scale of demand, the profits to be had are huge. ``Depending on
the scale of operation, it could cost about 50 pence to manufacture a
tablet,'' says Phil, a Dublin-based dealer. ``That would be sold to a
supplier for a couple of quid, which in turn could sell in the street
for up to pounds 10.''

That profit is broken down between the manufacturer, the international
trafficker, the domestic drug dealer, down to the middle and street
dealers. ``If you sell thousands of tablets a week, it's a nice
profit,'' said Phil. And that's why people are willing to get involved
in dealing, to earn easy money quickly. But there are dangers, he said.

``If you are supplying small amounts to friends and a set group of
people and pay your debts, then you're okay.'' He said it's when you
don't pay your debts, screw people over, muscle in on someone elses
turf or start getting police attention that the real danger begins.

The three men in Holland could have been killed for any of these
reasons or others, he said. The stakes are very high, especially when
working with other dealers. ``Dealers will kill you if you screw them
over. The money is too great and the risks are too high.''

There is very little research into the value of the drug industry in
Ireland. However, if you take the figure for 1998 (the last year for
official figures), the 605,000 tablets seized would be worth a maximum
of pounds 6,050,000 on the street.

If gardai only seize between 10-20% of drugs coming into the country
(10% is the common international estimate) this would suggest that the
annual ecstasy market could be worth between pounds 30m and pounds
60m.

The profits are massive. Gardai and drug sources say there are a lot
of new people involved in dealing at various levels, many previously
unknown to gardai. They all want a slice of the cake. But will they be
aware of the very real dangers?