U.S. and Canadian drug agents smash large Ecstasy ring

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, April 01, 2004

U.S. and Canadian drug agents smash large Ecstasy ring

U.S. and Canadian drug agents said Wednesday that they've smashed a huge Ecstasy drug ring that smuggled 1 million pills a month to the USA.

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U.S. and Canadian drug agents said Wednesday that they've smashed a huge Ecstasy drug ring that smuggled 1 million pills a month to the USA.

More than 145 people were arrested in cities in the USA and Canada in raids starting Wednesday morning.

The ring, which smuggled the powder form of the drug from the Netherlands and pressed it into pills in Canada, handled 15% of Ecstasy sales in the USA, authorities said.

"Out of all the dangers of illegal drugs, Ecstasy is of special concern because it is aimed at our teens and youth masquerading as colorful candy," Drug Enforcement Administration chief Karen Tandy said.

This is the first time authorities have uncovered a massive pill-making operation in North America, Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Comey said. He said high-speed pill presses are difficult to acquire in the USA because the government tracks them. The Canadian government does not register pill presses, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Ecstasy is popular among teenagers and young adults and at nightclubs for its stimulant and hallucinogenic effects. The pills are often stamped with a logo designed to appeal to young people. DEA agents say the drug ring produced a large number of blue pills stamped with a dolphin. Other pills were stamped with anchors, sunglasses, angels and fish.

The pills were wrapped and hidden in the fuel tanks of cars. On the street they sold for about $15 each.

Alleged distributors worked out of 18 cities, including Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Boston, Des Moines, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York City, Oakland, Salt Lake City and San Francisco.

The alleged heads of the ring were Ze Wai Wong, 46, a Chinese citizen living illegally in Toronto, and Mai Phuong Le, 38, a Canadian citizen.

The ring could be violent. Last year a person who owed a drug debt to the organization was murdered with a meat cleaver in New York City, authorities said.

Source: agencies

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