5 RAIDS HIT HOMES, BUSINESSES

Manitobans accused of smuggling ephedrine

POLICE conducted five simultaneous raids in Manitoba early yesterday against
an alleged smuggling network that police believe funnelled the main
ingredient for the street drug crystal methamphetamine into the United
States.

The local operation was part of a massive crackdown on the alleged smugglers
in which 250 police officers conducted 34 raids across Canada and in the
U.S.

Also yesterday, a 16-year veteran of Winnipeg Police Service was charged
with unlawful communication with members of the alleged smuggling ring.

RCMP and Winnipeg police released few details of the raids yesterday, but
confirmed several Manitobans are accused of a scheme that saw large amounts
of ephedrine purchased from a licensed distributor in Thunder Bay, Ont., and
brought to Winnipeg, Lac du Bonnet and Hanna, Alta.

From these points, it was then allegedly redistributed to black markets in
Vancouver, B.C., Buffalo, N.Y., and Sacramento, Calif., where it ended up in
clandestine labs to make crystal methamphetamine.

Police yesterday would not comment on whether the case is connected to
organized crime, but have said in the past the Hells Angels are a major
force in the trafficking of crystal methamphetamine in both countries.

Police said more information would be released at a news conference today.

Ephedrine is the main ingredient in legally available nutritional and weight
loss supplements in Canada, but is banned in the U.S. because it has been
linked to more than 155 deaths and dozens more heart attacks and strokes. A
synthetic form of the drug, known as pseudoephedrine, is a common ingredient
in over-the-counter and prescription cold and allergy products.

Crystal methamphetamine (known as meth, crank or ice) is a highly addictive
drug that is cheap to buy and gives users a long "high." It can be smoked,
snorted and injected.

The police raids in Manitoba took place about 7 a.m. when heavily armed
officers stormed into homes and businesses, including the Trans-Canada
Fitness centres at 413 McPhillips St. and in Lac du Bonnet.

At least three homes in the Winnipeg area were also targeted, officers using
battering rams to break down front doors and storm inside.

Legal sources and neighbours said one of the homes, at 98 Bethune Way in St.
Vital, belongs to Eddie Blake, a former Winnipeg Blue Bomber offensive
lineman who is also a nightclub owner and boxing promoter. Blake, who also
recently bought 107.9 FM and turned it into the 24-hour hip-hop station
Flava 107.9 FM, was unavailable for comment.

The second man identified by sources was Trans-Canada Fitness owner Rodger
Bruneau of Lac du Bonnet. Bruneau participates in strength events and is a
member of the Manitoba Association of Strength Athletes. His family declined
to comment.

A third man linked to the investigation is Emmanuel Barbagianis, the
registered owner of a house at 1105 Toshak Rd. in West St. Paul. Court
records list Barbagianis as a construction worker.

Late yesterday, police had not charged any of the three men with any crime.

Neighbours said heavily armed police officers in black bullet-proof vests
and helmets -- some armed with machine guns -- ran across one yard and broke
down a side door of the large West St. Paul house.

"They were pretty quick," a neighbour said. "The kids were out getting ready
for school and police were telling us to stay away. The road was full of
police cars."

Another house singled out by police was 8 Stonegate Close in the Whyte Ridge
subdivision.

Area residents gathered afterwards to watch two large tow trucks from Crane
Towing take away two identical black Dodge Vipers.

"It's scary," said Deanne Nichols as she watched all the activity on her
normally quiet street. "This is just a great little neighbourhood. I have a
hard time believing it." In total, about 140 officers in Manitoba were
involved in the raids, coined Operation Diversion.

RCMP said investigators seized a large quantity of ephedrine, cash, firearms
and various assets, the value of which could exceed $1 million.

Outside Trans-Canada Fitness on McPhillips Street, customers were turned
away by police.

"The people who run it seem like pretty cool people there," one woman said.
"They're really friendly."

Provincial records say both Trans-Canada Fitness and the neighbouring
Temptation Tanning, at 407 McPhillips St., were registered last year by
Rodger Bruneau of Lac du Bonnet under the numbered company 887023 Alberta
Inc.

Lawyer Darren Singbeil, listed under Temptation Tanning documents as a
contact, said he would not comment.

RCMP also said in a news release that police from Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, the
Canada Border Services Agency and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency,
as well as the Niagara Regional Police Service and the Abbotsford Police
Department, also participated.

The investigation has been underway since 2002 in the U.S. and began to
involve police in Winnipeg last January.

Thirty-four search warrants at both businesses and residences in B.C.,
Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario was executed in total. As well, warrants of
arrest for 16 people were issued alleging conspiracy to manufacture
methamphetamine and other associated offences.

SIDEBAR

Facts about drug ephedrine

*Ephedrine is derived from the plant ephedra equisetina.

*It's been used for centuries as a stimulant and is chemically similar to
amphetamines.

*In its pure form, ephedrine is a white powder, but more often it's sold in
tablet or capsule form or as loose plant material.

*Ephedrine triggers a mild burst of energy due to its similarities to the
body's hormone epinephrine (or adrenaline).

*It has long been used as an ingredient in over-the-counter cold, allergy
and asthma products.

*It is also used in illegal labs to make crystal methamphetamine in a
process that boosts the effect of ephedrine.

*Crystal meth is cheap to produce and more potent than cocaine and ecstasy.
It produces a more intense high, lasting up to 12 hours.

*On Winnipeg streets, a "point" of methamphetamine -- a tenth of a gram --
sells for $20.

*Methamphetamine causes the heart to race, increases blood pressure and
boosts the body's metabolism.

*People taking methamphetamine often become talkative, feel anxious and may
experience a sense of exhilaration or euphoria.

*It also produces dangerous side effects, including anxiety, psychosis,
paranoia, depression and violence. Some users can suffer brain hemorrhages
that cause permanent paralysis, speech loss or death.