CLUBBERS GROW RICH ON DRUG PROFITS

BRITAIN'S club scene has become a university of drug dealing from which
people can graduate within six weeks to a UKP10,000-a-week career selling
Ecstasy and amphetamines. The scene is not only the fast track to wealth,
but also to violence, as dealers seek to thwart rivals and extract cash
from poor payers, according to a report for the Home office.

Geoffrey Pearson, Professor of Criminology at Goldsmiths College, London,
who was one of the authors, said: "Most surprising to me is how quickly
people can build up quite substantial and very profitable businesses."

He found that the supply of drugs to the clubbing scene involved a cluster
of "dance drugs" such as Ecstasy, amphetamine and cocaine powder. The
report divided the supply chain into a hierarchy of importers, wholesalers,
middle market brokers and retail dealers and found that in the space of six
weeks, an individual could advance from club dealing to become a middle man
making up to UKP10,000 a week through his own network of retailers. Such a
dealer could sell 1,000 to 3,000 Ecstasy tablets a week, a pound of
amphetamine, a few ounces of cocaine and some cannabis.

The report also discloses that the drugs market has forced crime families
to admit outsiders to their ranks. The old tight-knit families, based on
relatives and particular neighbourhoods, have had to adapt to survive and
admit lorry drivers and accountants.

The report further found that kidnapping and the "taking hostage" of
four-wheel-drive vehicles were used frequently to enforce contracts.Such
incidents are never reported to the police.