Ecstasy Seizures The Australian 22 June 2006

JUNE 22

John Stapleton

THE price of the popular party drug ecstasy is set to rise in Sydney after police seized 250,000 ecstasy pills with an estimated street value of $12.5 million.

Police also confiscated two pill presses, used by gangs to manufacture the tablets, as well as 18 kilograms of the amphetamine based powder used to manufacture ecstasy.

The raids took place last weekend at five properties located in the Sydney suburbs of Bondi Junction, Zetland and Coogee.

Two men were arrested after 60 officers monitored the alleged gang's activities for three months.

Reese Gerard Woodgate, 42, of Bondi Junction and Nicholas Jake Barton, 32, of Coogee, were refused bail in Parramatta Local Court on Sunday when they were each charged with supplying an indictable quantity of a prohibited drug. Police expect to make further arrests.

NSW Special Crime Unit Commander, Superintendent Ian Foschollo, said the raids would put a significant dent in the amount of ecstasy available for sale in the city's clubs and was likely to push up the price. ``I think there is no doubt that this has had a major impact on the supply of illicit drugs, and by virtue of that it's going to push the price up,'' he said. ``It's probably a good thing because it takes it out of the reach of the ordinary users out there in the street.''

NSW Commissioner of Police Ken Moroney claimed police had disrupted a major organised crime group involved in the large scale manurfacture and supply of drugs for the Sydney market. He condemned the use of the term ``recreational drug'' to describe ecstasy, which has been popular for more than a decade amongst nightclubbers wanting to stay up dancing all night. The ``love'' drug is also known for its aphrodisiac effects.

``We will continue to use all lawful means at our disposal to eradicate illicit drugs from our society and to identify, investigate and prosecute those criminals who trade in death and harm in the community,'' Commissioner Moroney said.

A recent United Nations report revealed that Australians were the largest per capita users of ecstasy in the world. This is contrary to international trends, which show the drug becoming cheaper and less fashionable in most of the world's capitals.

Australians also pay amongst the highest prices in the world, making this an attractive market for both overseas and domestic suppliers.

Information manager for the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, Paul Dillon, said despite some very large seizures in recent years there had been no appreciable impact on the ecstasy market, with no increase in price or decrease in supply. ``This quite clearly shows that there is a tremendously large market,'' he said.