Pubdate: Sat, 20 Jan 2001
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2001 Southam Inc.
Contact:  300 - 1450 Don Mills Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3R5
Fax: (416) 442-2209
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Forum: http://forums.canada.com/~nationalpost
Author: Stewart Bell

EASY ACCESS TO CHEMICALS FUELS DRUG TRADE: RCMP

Ecstasy Most Popular

Clandestine labs that produce trendy party drugs such as Ecstasy and 
methamphetamine are flourishing in Canada due to the lack of government 
regulation over the sale of chemicals, according to an RCMP intelligence 
report.

The chemical ingredients used to manufacture illicit designer drugs are 
openly available in Canada and sales have increased as the popularity of 
the tablets has grown among youth, says the report released under the 
Access to Information Act.

Because Canada lacks legislation controlling the sale of chemicals, U.S. 
crime syndicates have been coming north to buy their ingredients from 
Canadian distributors, the report says. In some cases, they also 
manufacture the drugs here before shipping them back to the United States.

"Of concern are the increasing reports of suspicious purchases of chemical 
precursors," the report says. "The popularity of synthetic drugs, notably 
Ecstasy, is growing. Demands for the precursors required to manufacture 
these substances is increasingly accordingly."

The report says if Canada brought in regulations to control the sale of the 
chemical ingredients used to make such designer drugs as Ecstasy and PCP, 
it would be easier for police to detect secret drug labs and take action 
against them and their suppliers.

"The domestic purchase and sale of chemical precursors are not regulated in 
Canada. As a result, traffickers are able to purchase the ingredients 
openly from legitimate distributors," it says.

"Regulations pertaining to the sale of precursors would justify police 
measures when irregularities occur. Regulations would also foster a greater 
co-operation between police and legitimate chemical distributors and assist 
in developing a more proactive approach to the detection of clandestine 
laboratory operations."

Ecstasy, which the report describes as the "preferred chemical drug among 
adolescents and young adults," is manufactured in Canada by outlaw 
motorcycle gangs, particularly in Quebec, attracted by the huge profits. A 
tablet that costs 50c to make sells for up to $40. Sixteen deaths in 
Ontario alone have been attributed to the drug since 1999.

But most of the Ecstasy consumed in Canada is imported from Belgium and the 
Netherlands. Last year, 1.5 million pills were seized by Canadian customs 
agents, up from 400,000 in 1999, 70,000 in 1998 and 10,000 in 1997, the 
report said.

"Foreign criminal groups with counterparts in Canada and the U.S. import 
from Europe large single shipments by air freight or multi-kilo shipments 
by courier," it says.

The smuggling is done by bikers and Asian gangs. American Ecstasy couriers 
use Canada as a transit point, the report says; they fly to Montreal and 
Toronto from Europe and then travel by land to the United States.

One of the largest Ecstasy seizures in Canada took place in Montreal last 
month when more than 200,000 tablets with a street value of $7-million were 
discovered hidden aboard a German ship. The illicit cargo was destined for 
a Toronto textiles company.

The report says PCP, used mainly in Quebec, is manufactured by bikers in 
Quebec City, while methamphetamines are found mostly in the West. Also 
popular is GHB, a date rape drug popular at all-night dance parties called 
raves. "Police expect the demand for this substance will increase 
considerably in the near future."

The report, dated Dec. 6, was written by the RCMP's Criminal Intelligence 
Directorate in Ottawa.
- ---
MAP posted-by: GD