COPS TARGET SOURCE OF DEADLY PILL

'We consider this ... peddling poison,' says officer after drug kills
Ajax girl

Police are hunting the source of the Ecstasy pill that killed a
15-year-old Ajax girl.

The girl, whose name wasn't released by police, died in hospital on
July 19, four days after she collapsed outside a Zellers store on
Kingston Rd. while she was shopping with friends.

She was the only one among the group of friends who suffered a
reaction to the drug, police said.

The teen fell into a coma about an hour after ingesting the yellow
pill adorned with a musical note, and was taken to Rouge Valley
hospital before being airlifted to the Hospital for Sick Children.

She never recovered, suffering from multiple organ failure among other
complications. Her heartbroken parents kept vigil by her bedside until
she was pronounced dead four days later.

Hospital staff "tried everything," a source said.

A funeral was held last Saturday, followed by cremation.

People familiar with the incident say she comes from a good, solid
family. The teen is survived by her parents, an older sister and a
nephew, and her grandparents.

The family has refused to speak about their tragedy.

"There's nothing worse for the parents," Durham Det. Tom Andrews said.
"Parents shouldn't bury their children."

In recent years, forensic and drug experts have been seeing deadly and
highly addictive crystal meth mixed in Ecstasy.

"We're seeing a merging of the two products," RCMP Supt. Ron Allen
said.

Chemical analysis of Ecstasy seized by police is showing more meth
mixed in Ecstasy tablets, ranging anywhere from 10% to 80%, said
Allen, head of the force's GTA drug unit.

Andrews said the death of the teen has galvanized cops.

"We are dedicating resources" to find the source of the fatal drug, he
said. "This was a 15-year-old kid with her whole life in front of her.
We consider this as drug dealers peddling poison.

"We won't stop until we find who put the Ecstasy in her hands as we
continue our efforts to recover some of this Ecstasy and get it off
the streets of Ajax," Andrews said.

"Ecstasy is a problem everywhere and it's a problem in Ajax-Pickering,
and the investigation to date confirms the disturbing reality that
many young people are experimenting with this drug," said the former
head of the region's drug unit.