19 ARRESTED AT MASSIVE RAVE

12,000 kids party on drugs in city-owned building

Nineteen young people were arrested by Toronto Police for trafficking in
Ecstasy and other drugs during the largest rave ever staged in the city.

The rave was held in a city-owned building less than two weeks after new
Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino and Mayor Mel Lastman both declared war
on the all-night dances.

Police said more than 12,000 people, from 15 to 22 years old, packed the
Better Living Centre at Exhibition Place early yesterday for a "clash of the
world's top rave DJs."

Det. Howie Page, of 14 Division's plainclothes unit, said four young
offenders were among the 19 people arrested for trafficking or possessing
Ecstasy, crystal amphetamines and a drug called Special K, or katamine.

He said 10 of those charged are slated for bail hearings today at Old City
Hall. Nearly all those arrested are from outside Toronto.

Page said more than 300 Ecstasy pills, worth about $15,000, were seized by
undercover officers during the 12-hour rave. He said ambulances were called
after several rave-goers collapsed.

"These drugs are made in labs and nobody knows what's in them," Page said.
"Who knows what type of by-products go into them?"

Police lab tests have shown some Ecstasy pills are laced with rat poison,
horse tranquillizers and other contaminants.

Page said the rave was the largest in the city's history and crowds were
lining up at 3 a.m. to get into the building.

Police, health, zoning and fire officials met earlier this month with
municipal MPs to get tough on raves and after-hours clubs.

There were similar vows made by the city last year after Ryerson University
business student Allan Ho died in an underground parking garage after taking
an unknown drug.

About 30 paid duty officers and private security guards were required to
keep an eye on the crowd.

"It worries me as a detective that kids are taking these drugs without
knowing what's inside," Page said.

Police said many ravers mix the Ecstasy, which is an upper, with katamine, a
downer. They then use a pacifier carried around their necks to prevent their
teeth from grinding, which is caused by the chemical cocktail.

"Parents should watch for symptoms and always know where their kids are,"
Page said.