POLICE BUST CITY PARTY ATTENDED BY HUNDREDS

Entering the old Prince Hall Masonic Lodge, in the 600 block of East Broad
Street, was like going to a fraternity party. Young people paid a cover
charge, got a wristband and were invited in to dance to the music and have a
drink.

Only at this party, it wasn't beer out of a keg that partiers were drinking
- -- it was water out of a bottle. People drank it trying to prevent the burn
in their throats from the drugs they were taking, police said.

It was a "Rave" party for people in their teens and 20s. Police consider it
a haven of illicit drugs, including cocaine and Ecstacy, and underage
people. Participants call it a music festival or a gathering for artistic
people.

Whatever it is, Savannah had one Saturday night, and police raided it about
2:20 a.m. Sunday.

The Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team and the Savannah Police
Department watched the party all night, and finally, worried there were
people vomiting or unconscious inside, they went in. About 50 officers,
including undercover agents, members of the county sheriff's department
canine unit and uniformed officers converged on the area -- quietly.

As officers approached, with lights flashing on several police cars around
the building, the crowd remained calm. Some mentioned to others the cops
were there, but it seemed like they didn't care. No one ran. No one cried.
And no one was arrested -- despite the fact that drugs were found.

An estimated 850 people attended the party -- in the 250-person-capacity
building -- at $18 each, police said.

We came in with a plan to keep young people here from getting into trouble,"
said CNT Commander Steve Smith. "We shut it down in an orderly fashion and
sent a message to the community that we're not going to tolerate this kind
of activity."

Officers found a variety of drugs in and around the building, including what
they believed to be cocaine, marijuana and designer drugs such as Ecstacy.
While it may come as a surprise no arrests were made, police said that from
the outset, they didn't expect any.

"We had a potentially volatile situation, and we shut it down as
expeditiously and safely as possible," Smith said.

The idea behind the raid, he said, was not to arrest the partiers or
organizers, but to alert parents of young teen-agers who attended to what
was really happening.

Rave parties, attended primarily by white teen-agers of middle-income
families, have grown in popularity in Savannah over the past six months,
police say.

"Parents hear that it's a music festival, and they sell only water and
lollipops," Smith said.

Which, at the Rave on Saturday night, was just the case. But the water and
lollipops weren't because the partiers were underage. It was because their
throats were dry from doing all the drugs, Smith said.

The inside of the hall, almost completely dark, was jammed with young people
body to body in a hot, sweaty mix. Most were dancing to loud techno music,
holding glow-sticks and drinking bottled water. Some, to keep their throats
from getting dry, sucked on pacifiers and lollipops. Others wore cloth masks
rubbed with Vicks VapoRub, which according to police officers, help heighten
a high. At least three local drugstores were out of the ointment Saturday night.

With barely enough room to move around inside, the atmosphere was very close
and friendly. Some people were making out, while others massaged each
other's backs. That occurs because of the drug, Ecstacy, police said.

"It's a real touchy-feely kind of environment," Smith said.

And the general public is at risk when participants leave such a party,
Smith added. "After ingesting these drugs all night, these kids plan on
getting in their cars and driving home, and that has serious implications
for all the citizens in Savannah."

As partiers left the building, and the yard behind it, some officers looked
for signs of intoxication, while others entered the building and began
combing through the empty water bottles, wrappers, Vicks containers,
cigarette butts and drugs that littered the floor.

Sgt. Nancy Jones of CNT picked up 14 white tablets from the floor she
suspected were Ecstacy, although only an analysis at the state crime lab
will prove that.

Officers also found several small baggies containing a white powder they
believed to be cocaine.

Two drug dogs, Lan-hu and Tara, scoured the premises with their handlers,
alerting several times where they sniffed drug residue.

In addition to the drugs, police found "A Witches Bible," containing
information on black magic.

James Phoenix Jr., chairman of the Masonic Building Association, said Sunday
he did not know who specifically rented the building for Saturday's event,
but that groups must first sign a contract, stating their reasons for being
there.

"I don't know what happened (Saturday) night," Phoenix said. "As far as
we're concerned, we don't control what the people have on them."

Phoenix said groups go through a hall agent to sign up for use of the building.

"It's the person who rented the building's responsibility, not us. We are
not responsible for frisking them down and seeing what they have," he added.
"If we have a suspicion that people are going to do anything wrong, we won't
rent it out to them."

The money that went to the party's organizers -- as much as $15,000 just
from door receipts and $2 for each bottle of water -- was not taken by police.

"If we can tie the money directly to drugs, we'll confiscate all of it,"
Smith said.

However, one of the young women who helped put on the party told police she
put up her college money to pay for it. She later said all the proceeds were
stolen, although police claim they saw her leave the building with a tan
cash box tucked under her shirt.

At only one point during the raid did officers raise their voices. One man
attending the party called an officer a liar.

Smith stepped in, telling the organizers to calm down.

"We want to be treated with respect in here, or we can get awfully ugly."

Flyers to advertise the party went as far south as Jacksonville and up into
South Carolina, police report. According to Smith, a competing Rave party
was held Saturday night in Statesboro.

Some of the people attending and organizing the Savannah gathering, who
would not give their names, said it was only a party, claiming 500 kids were
there who didn't hurt anyone.

The group of friends said they didn't have anything to do with any drugs on
the premises. But Smith doesn't believe it.

"I feel anybody going to this knows exactly what it entails."

Crime and public safety reporter Paula Reed Ward can be reached at 652-0360.

[Sidebar]

What To Look For

Police describe "Raves" as parties designed for young people in their teens
and 20s. Alcohol is not served at the events, but illegal drugs are a major
attraction. Teen-agers drink bottled water and eat lollipops in an attempt
to stop their throats from getting dry from the drugs they use. Partiers
also use face masks smeared with Vicks VapoRub to cover their mouths and
noses to help heighten the effect of the drugs.

Signs parents should look for:

* Children may tell them they are going to an all-night music festival,
where only water will be served.

* Bottles of Vicks VapoRub, pacifiers, face masks, lollipops

* Flyers for "Rave" parties, especially held in warehouses or large areas