MOUNTIES BUST HUGE ECSTASY OPERATION

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police's clandestine lab team seized drugs with
a street value of more than $40 million Wednesday after executing three
search warrants in Scarborough.

According to the RCMP, an operational synthetic drug lab with enough
chemicals and ecstasy powder to produce about 50,000 ecstasy pills was
discovered in a home on Todd Road northwest of Sheppard Avenue and Brimley
Road.

At two public storage units located in undisclosed industrial areas in
Scarborough, police found sufficient chemicals to produce more than four
million ecstasy pills.

No arrests have been made in the ongoing investigation.

Police estimate that the potential street value of the drugs seized is
between $40 million and $80 million.

The Todd Road house was cordoned off with yellow tape as police officers
and firefighters in protective gear gathered evidence and dismantled the
operation.

"It certainly is a significant bust," said RCMP Corp. Howard Adams at the
scene. "We're used to seeing some of these set up in industrial areas, but
it's now becoming a little bit more prevalent within residential areas."

Todd Road resident Michael Maughan said he's not "totally surprised" by the
bust because the people living in the bungalow were very quiet and kept to
themselves.

"They really haven't built any relationships in the neighbourhood," he said
adding, "We never had a chance to even meet them."

Doris Wright, who has been living in the area for 20 years, said it is a
good and quiet neighbourhood.

Corp. Adams said there are dangers associated with ecstasy, which is
described as the club drug of choice among youth.

"When we look at some of the drug labs that we found, they're not the
cleanest facilities. They're not under a strict regimen on how they make
the product," he said. "You never know what the mixture is going to be
within that product, so definitely it can be a danger to anyone who buys (it)."