STUDENT ECSTASY SUPPLIER HELD

BUTTERWORTH: A college student, believed to be a major supplier of
Ecstasy pills to nightspots in the state, was arrested when police
broke up a processing centre at a shophouse in Raja Uda yesterday.

OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Wahab Ahmad said a pressing machine, 3kg of a
flour-like substance said to contain methamphetamine and paracetamol,
five packets of cannabis and 700 Ecstasy pills were seized from the
four-storey shophouse in Jalan Bunga Raya.

"The pills said to be worth RM21,000 were already packed and about to
be distributed to the pushers. Our checks showed that the pills are
usually sold at RM30 each.

"A district narcotics department team had been monitoring the place
for about a month. We only struck at 4.20am today after making sure
that everything was in place," he said.

It is learnt that the seized ingredients could make hundreds of
thousands of Ecstasy pills worth millions of ringgit. Police have sent
the seized flour-like substance to the Chemistry Department for analysis.

ACP Abdul Wahab, who described the seizure as the state's biggest,
added that the pills were not only destined for the local nightspots
but also those in neighbouring states.

He said the 24-year-old student was liable to be charged under Section
39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act which carries the mandatory death sentence.

"The narcotics team also detained a man, a 33-year-old lounge bouncer,
who was making his way up to see the student to pick up his Ecstasy
supply. He is believed to be a pusher who supplied his regular
customers with the pills.

"Six such pills, a packet of syabu and several psychotropic pills were
seized with the arrest of the man. He was also remanded by the
magistrate's court to help in investigations," he said.

Ecstasy is a methamphetamine-based pill which "charges up" its users
and is especially popular with the more affluent crowd comprising
disco and pub-goers in their 20s to early 30s.