POLICE TAKE AIM AT ECSTASY TRADE BY ORGANIZED GROUPS

Investigators Say Trafficking Of Rave Drug Is On Rise In Toronto

Police across Greater Toronto are stepping up their crackdown on the growing
trade in Ecstasy, the euphoria-inducing, mind-altering chemical that medical
experts say can cause brain damage.

Police are investigating Russian, East European and Asian crime groups,
along with biker gangs, that they believe are now involved in importing,
manufacturing and distributing the drug, with each vying for control of the
exploding market.

``It fits the typical organized crime pattern,'' said Superintendent Ron
Taverner of Toronto police special investigative services. ``You have the
hierarchy that filters down to the street level. In this case, it's the
young people in raves and all-night parties who are the drug pushers and
users.''

Ecstasy users usually feel a heightened sense of euphoria, energy and
confidence that can last four to six hours. Its negative side effects can
include psychiatric disturbances such as panic, anxiety, depression and
hallucinations. Its potential physical side effects include muscle tension,
nausea, blurred vision, fainting, chills, sweating, an increased heart rate
and blood pressure, tremors and sleep problems.

Nine people died in Ontario last year after ingesting Ecstasy, including
Allan Ho, a 21-year-old student who died last October. Ontario's coroner
announced last week that an inquest this spring will focus on Ho's death,
but also will examine the other eight known Ecstasy-related fatalities.

Drug officers say Ecstasy has become the drug of choice at raves and
all-night parties, where the tiny blue and green pills, which cost pennies
to make, sell for $20 to $30 a pop.

``Toronto has become the rave capital of North America and the capital of
Ecstasy consumption,'' said Detective Randy Smith of a special Toronto
police unit formed to deal with chemical drugs and organized crime.

``Its use is rampant. It's in every club downtown, in every all-night party.
Our officers say that 70 per cent of the people at these parties are wired
on something and it's not booze. They're wired on everything from marijuana
to designer drugs, especially speed and Ecstasy.''

The Toronto unit was formed last March to examine the growing designer drug
trade and to target the organized crime groups marketing Ecstasy to the rave
crowd.

``Our officers go into the high schools and as soon as they mention Ecstasy,
they see the smiles on the students' faces,'' Smith said. ``These kids are
laughing at us for being concerned about this.

``But we've got to get the message across that these chemicals are harmful.
Geez, we've had nine deaths. If that isn't a message I don't know what is.''

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating seven seizures of
Ecstasy pills in January at Pearson International Airport. More than 110,000
pills, with an estimated street value of more than $4.1 million, have been
discovered on passengers taking flights from France.

There were seven Ecstasy seizures for all of last year at the airport, with
officers confiscating 12,925 pills worth $460,000.

Police say organized crime groups have traditionally used couriers, known as
mules, to smuggle narcotics and they're now finding people to do the same
thing with Ecstasy.

``It's so new we don't know what they're paying these mules, but the
couriers that bring in cocaine or cannabis out of the Caribbean and Colombia
generally get about $1,000 to $1,500 in addition to their flights and an
all-expense week in the country where they're picking it up,'' Smith said.

``There is such a demand for it over here that the groups manufacturing it
can't keep up with the demand. So right now they have to use couriers to
bring it into the country.''

Smith said organized crime sees the Ecstasy trade as less risky than
trafficking in cocaine, marijuana and heroin.

``The maximum sentence for marijuana trafficking is life in prison, but the
maximum sentence for chemical trafficking is 10 years,'' Smith said. ``A
gram of Ecstasy sells for about $250 to $270 and a gram of coke sells for
$100, so what drug is more profitable to them?''

Users believe Ecstasy is harmless, but the drug - known as MDMA
(methylanedioxymethamphetamine) - is believed to affect the central nervous
system, increasing blood pressure and heart rate.

``People think there are no side effects, but there are tons of health
issues,'' Taverner said. ``Its use is linked to Parkinson's disease . . .
There are effects we're not even aware of.

``Because it's being manufactured illicitly, we don't know what other types
of chemicals are being used to create it. In the past we've seen drugs cut
with some dangerous substances like arsenic being added to them.''

``The kids who use this really believe this is a soft drug that can't harm
them,'' said Constable Jake Peddler of Peel Region's morality unit.

``But the truth is, we really don't know what the long-term effects of this
drug is right now.''