MARKHAM ECSTASY BUST THE BIGGEST, POLICE SAY

Markham is home to what police are calling the largest ecstasy bust
ever in Canada -- a drug seizure thought to be worth perhaps half a
billion dollars.

York Regional Police put the figure to the bust, made last week, for
the first time yesterday. Police raided a house on Glenbourne Park
Drive in the northern suburb, and searched other properties in
Toronto. In the end, seven men from British Columbia were arrested.

"These people are not welcome in Markham," Markham Mayor Don Cousens
said in an interview yesterday. He added that the town is cracking
down on illicit drug-making. "Our community is working with the police
force to fight it."

York Chief Armand La Barge told reporters at a news conference that
his force had seized more than 1,000 kilograms of chemicals used to
make ecstasy. The chemicals were easily worth $100-million in
themselves, he said, but could fetch up to half a billion dollars on
the street. Police also seized cash and hashish.

Ecstasy is a club drug that induces feelings of euphoria and energy.
The pills sell for about $20 each. Coroner's inquests have concluded
that ecstasy has killed in some cases.

Most of Canada's ecstasy once came from overseas, primarily Holland,
but more is being produced domestically. Police fear that organized
criminals who cut their teeth on Canada's proliferating
marijuana-growing operations are increasingly turning to more
profitable ecstasy labs.

Mr. Cousens, who describes ecstasy as a "very terrible" scourge, said
the drug was likely destined for the United States.

He said that Markham's illicit homegrown-drug operations peaked a
couple of years ago. Back then, he said, there were estimates that one
out of every 200 homes was being used to cultivate marijuana.
Enforcement efforts have curtailed the problem, he said.

In September, a routine traffic stop in Scarborough led to what was
then regarded as the largest seizure of domestically produced ecstasy.

After the stop, roughly 161 kilograms of powdered ecstasy, 42 kilos of
the drug in liquid form and 177 grams of heroin were found at a
Markham home and at a storage facility.