'DATE-RAPE' DRUG RING SHUT DOWN

Canada, U.S. Uncover Plot to Sell Drug Components on Net

Quebec - The RCMP said Thursday it helped dismantle a massive Internet drug
ring that sold chemicals used to manufacture the so-called "date-rape" drug.

Police arrested three people in the Quebec City region Wednesday as part of
a sweeping police operation in which 115 people were arrested in 84 cities
across North America.

Alleged ringleader Daniel Pelchat of St-Etienne-de-Lauzon, Que., was
indicted Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y., for numerous offences including
importation and distribution of GBL.

Mark Frankland, 39, of Barrie, Ont., and Cameron Marsh, 41, of Midhurst,
Ont., were named in a separate U.S. indictment.

The two Ontarians are accused of operating a Web site which allegedly
shipped about 5,000 orders for GHB "kits," as well as quantities of GBL and
BD, another component used to produce the date-rape drug.

GBL is used in the production of GHB, a potentially fatal nervous-system
depressant that can cause drowsiness, dizziness, nausea and loss of inhibition.

There have been several documented cases of GHB being used to sedate and
rape women in Canada and the United States.

Pelchat was being held Thursday in Montreal, where he'll face a hearing to
determine whether he'll be extradited to the United States, said the RCMP.

Assistant U.S. attorney James Kennedy called Pelchat one of the biggest
providers of GHB in the world.

"He's even had a GHB synthesis method named after him," Kennedy told a news
conference in Buffalo.

The Mounties, acting on a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration tip,
executed five search warrants Wednesday at a business and a residence in
St-Etienne-de-Lauzon.

They seized quantities of GBL valued at more that $170 million, as well as
documents and computer components.

RCMP Insp. Marc Proulx told a news conference Thursday the police operation
was the largest of its kind involving GHB and the Internet.

"Payment was being made via credit card and they would then deliver the
package via Canada Post," said Proulx, who led the police operation in Canada.

"The pretext was that they were selling only GBL, however we know
better..they were selling kits to manufacture GHB."

Also arrested near Quebec City on Wednesday were Judith Belanger, 38, of
St-Etienne-de-Lauzon, and David Rousseau, 28, of Laurier-Station, Que. Both
were charged Thursday with conspiracy in connection with the ring.

The Mounties said most of the GBL compound was bound for the United States
and Europe, where it was sold for $280 US per packet. Quantities of the
substance were also sent to dozens of other countries, and police said the
drug operation received an average of 160 orders per day.

GBL is legal in Canada but is outlawed south of the border, where a ban is
in place on all source ingredients used to manufacture illegal drugs.

U.S. officials said the chemicals seized this week could have yielded more
than 25 million doses of GHB and its derivatives.

In Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said his country
is making inroads against Internet drug trafficking.

"This takedown is a dose of harsh reality for drug traffickers who seek to
exploit the vast markets and anonymity of cyberspace," said Ashcroft.