EUROPE SUPPLIES WORLD'S ECSTASY

US Says Global Markets Are Flooded With Drugs Trafficked Via the UK As
Police Extend Instant Warnings for Dope Users

Europe has become one of the biggest drug-producing regions in the
world, according to new ecstasy seizure statistics from the US.

The figures from the American Drugs Enforcement Administration reveal
that more than 10 million ecstasy tablets were seized in the US last
year, of which 80 per cent were manufactured in Europe. In 1999 the
DEA seized three million tablets. In 1993 they seized 196.

The statistics reveal the boom in ecstasy production and export from
Europe. In 2000, 27.5 million ecstasy tablets were among 10,000 kilos
of drugs produced in Europe and seized overseas. In Europe 17m tablets
were seized in 2000, 50 per cent more than in 1999.

The ecstasy smuggled from Europe to the US is worth more than UKP3
billion. Some comes from Britain or is trafficked by gangs with
connections in the UK, according to European police sources.

The massive production of ecstasy in Europe, particularly in and
around the Dutch city Maastricht, is causing tensions between
transatlantic law enforcement officials and policymakers.

In recent months there have been seizures of European ecstasy in
Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Mexico, Suriname and Brazil.

Earlier this year Europol, the European criminal intelligence service,
launched a Europe-wide attempt to crack down on the export of ecstasy
from Europe. Only 333,000 tablets were seized and 13 people arrested
and American DEA agents told The Observer they would welcome further
action. British police sources said that they were aware of American
concerns.

Experts say they do not expect production to fall soon despite
attempts by the Dutch government to find and destroy the labs. Ecstasy
manufacturers are now moving into Eastern Europe where precursor
chemicals are easily available. Labs have recently been found in
Poland, Bulgaria and Russia. The profits can be huge. According to the
DEA, the initial investment needed for an ecstasy production lab can
be less than UKP30,000. Each tablet costs between 10 and 20p to produce
and in America can be sold for UKP30, several times more than in the
UK.

The trade is so lucrative that Colombian smuggling gangs have been
asking for payment in ecstasy pills for cocaine delivered to European
dealers. A kilo of cocaine is, according to DEA sources, exchanged for
13,000 ecstasy pills which are then taken to North and South America.