News (Media Awareness Project) - South Africa: Wire: Apartheid Scientist Made Ecstasy |
| Title: | South Africa: Wire: Apartheid Scientist Made Ecstasy |
| Published On: | 1998-06-09 |
| Source: | Associated Press |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-07 08:38:38 |
APARTHEID SCIENTIST MADE ECSTASY
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) An apartheid-era scientist testified today that
he ran a secret program that produced more than 2,000 pounds of the designer
drug Ecstasy, with a street value of up to $200 million.
Testifying before a panel probing apartheid-era abuses, Dr. Johan Koekemoer
said he was working at an army front company in 1992 when he was ordered to
manufacture the illegal drug.
He said he was told the synthetic hallucinogen was to be used to
incapacitate enemies of the white-run state, but he suspected corrupt
military officers intended to sell it on the street.
Ecstasy, or MDMA, is a drug that induces a feeling of euphoria and
relaxation. MDMA, which is illegal, is different from Herbal Ecstasy, a
product sold in health stores that contains amphetamine-like ephedrine.
"I was just a bit suspicious," Koekemoer told a hearing of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, which is holding a weeklong probe into chemical
and biological warfare projects during apartheid.
When he confronted his superiors with this doubts, he said he was told the
drug was intended for military purposes only.
Aiming to shed light on the murky world of espionage and secret weapons
projects, this week's Truth Commission hearings are focused on the
activities of Dr. Wouter Basson.
Basson headed the army's Seventh Medical Battalion, which ran biological and
chemical weapons programs through a complex network of front companies.
Basson was forced to resign from the army in 1993 after a government report
said he had been involved in making poisons and chemical bombs. He is
currently under investigation on charges of making and possessing Ecstasy
and mandrax, a depressant smoked with marijuana.
On Monday, a former government scientist described helping construct
poison-tipped umbrellas, walking sticks and screwdrivers for use by
apartheid hit squads targeting activists fighting white rule.
Basson is expected to testify later this week. The commission was set up by
President Nelson Mandela in 1995 to document apartheid-era abuses by both
sides and to promote racial healing.
Checked-by: Melodi Cornett
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) An apartheid-era scientist testified today that
he ran a secret program that produced more than 2,000 pounds of the designer
drug Ecstasy, with a street value of up to $200 million.
Testifying before a panel probing apartheid-era abuses, Dr. Johan Koekemoer
said he was working at an army front company in 1992 when he was ordered to
manufacture the illegal drug.
He said he was told the synthetic hallucinogen was to be used to
incapacitate enemies of the white-run state, but he suspected corrupt
military officers intended to sell it on the street.
Ecstasy, or MDMA, is a drug that induces a feeling of euphoria and
relaxation. MDMA, which is illegal, is different from Herbal Ecstasy, a
product sold in health stores that contains amphetamine-like ephedrine.
"I was just a bit suspicious," Koekemoer told a hearing of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, which is holding a weeklong probe into chemical
and biological warfare projects during apartheid.
When he confronted his superiors with this doubts, he said he was told the
drug was intended for military purposes only.
Aiming to shed light on the murky world of espionage and secret weapons
projects, this week's Truth Commission hearings are focused on the
activities of Dr. Wouter Basson.
Basson headed the army's Seventh Medical Battalion, which ran biological and
chemical weapons programs through a complex network of front companies.
Basson was forced to resign from the army in 1993 after a government report
said he had been involved in making poisons and chemical bombs. He is
currently under investigation on charges of making and possessing Ecstasy
and mandrax, a depressant smoked with marijuana.
On Monday, a former government scientist described helping construct
poison-tipped umbrellas, walking sticks and screwdrivers for use by
apartheid hit squads targeting activists fighting white rule.
Basson is expected to testify later this week. The commission was set up by
President Nelson Mandela in 1995 to document apartheid-era abuses by both
sides and to promote racial healing.
Checked-by: Melodi Cornett
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