HASIDIC JEWS ENLISTED TO SMUGGLE DRUGS FROM EUROPE, OFFICIALS SAY

NEW YORK -- In their black hats, dark suits and side curls, the stream
of young Hasidic men flying home from Europe seemed unlikely to raise
the suspicions of U.S. Customs officials.

But federal prosecutors say the sober young men were enlisted as
couriers in a huge operation to flood New York with the designer drug
MDMA, popularly called Ecstasy, for resale at high markups to young
people partying their nights away at clubs and "rave" dances.

Law-enforcement officials this week announced the indictment of seven
people suspected of running the operation, which the officials said
brought in more than 1 million MDMA pills into New York and laundered
millions of dollars in subsequent profits. None of those indicted were
couriers, but investigators said they expect more arrests.

The indictments Tuesday capped a 21-month investigation. Officials
said the Ecstasy-smuggling operation was based in Amsterdam, the
Netherlands, and also operated in Brooklyn and Long Island.

According to the indictments, young men, primarily from Hasidic
communities in Brooklyn and Monsey, were offered a free trip to Europe
and about $1,500 in return for smuggling back some contraband. Some
were also offered $200 for each new courier they recruited. The
authorities said that each courier smuggled as many as 45,000 Ecstasy
tablets into the United States.

The recruiters chose the couriers, whose exact number was not given,
believing that they would not attract the attention of Customs
inspectors. Some couriers were reportedly told that they would be
bringing back diamonds.