Pubdate: Mon, 20 Dec 2004
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2004
Contact:  http://www.scotsman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406
Author: Rachel Williams, PA

POLICE CLAMPDOWN ON INTERNET DRUG SALES

Police have arrested more then 20 people in a nationwide crackdown on
class A drugs being bought on the Internet, the National Crime Squad
said today.

Drugs similar to ecstasy were also seized in the swoops over the last
two weeks, codenamed Operation Ismene.

It was set up after an American man died from an overdose of the drug
2-CI, which had been bought from a website registered to a man in Las
Vegas.

The Louisiana branch of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
believed that Britons were among his customers worldwide, with parcels
containing 2-CI allegedly being imported into the UK using courier
services.

NCS deputy director general Jim Gamble said: "The Internet has become
the street corner for many drug users and by working in partnership
with the DEA, the Crime Squad and police forces throughout the country
have been able to arrest people suspected of purchasing drugs online.

"This operation demonstrates our ability to respond to new crime
trends and protect members of the public from harm.

"Action taken over the last few weeks will hopefully prevent further
deaths and overdoses.

"We are committed to identifying and preventing any illegal drug
distribution through the use of the Internet.

"A drug supply route between the USA and the UK has been
dismantled."

The drug 2-CI comes in a powder format and can be divided into doses
of varying strengths and effects.

It can be mixed with liquid and swallowed, placed on blotting paper or
included in capsule or tablet format.

Of those arrested 16 -- one each in the Cheshire, Derbyshire,
Staffordshire, Warwickshire, County Durham, Suffolk and Worcestershire
police force areas, two each in Hertfordshire, Kent and the West
Midlands and three in Leicestershire -- have been released on bail.
One man in Kent was charged with possession of class C drugs.

Five -- one each in Avon and Somerset and Northamptonshire and three
in Greater Manchester -- have been cautioned, while one woman was
released without charge in the West Midlands.
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MAP posted-by: Derek