Posted on 01/12/2006 11:27:40 PM PST by UpHereEh
TORONTO -- The RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency stopped about $450 million in ecstasy from hitting Toronto streets by seizing 4,500 kilograms of the chemical used to make the drug.
The agencies launched a four-month probe after border agents in Vancouver spotted an unusual shipment of water chestnuts from China, said spokesperson Faith St. John.
After the agency marine unit received paperwork from the port in China in September, St. John said agents were watching for a shipment of 1,000 cartons of water chestnuts destined for Toronto. They also contacted the RCMP.
When the shipment arrived, 116 of those cartons actually contained MDP2P (3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanone), the main ingredient used to make ecstasy pills.
The MDP2P is combined with other chemicals to make MDMA powder, commonly known as ecstasy, and then mixed with filler and pressed into pills.
St. John said a second, similar shipment arrived in Vancouver in November with 106 cartons containing the chemicals.
The border agency found a total of 4,500 kg of MDP2P, enough to produce more than 30 million pills.
"It's huge," RCMP Cpl. Michele Paradis said, noting each pill goes for $15 to $45 on the street.
Given the size of the seizure, Paradis said it's obvious the importation involved organized crime.
"This is a huge amount of money and this is a huge seizure. So this would have had to be organized," she said.
Xiao Zhang Su, 45, Feng Ran Zhan, 43, Wei Hong Sun, 54, and Zhi Jun Huang, 22, all of Richmond Hill, Li Fang Qu, 41, of Markham and Wai Po Chan, 45, of Scarborough, have been charged under the Controlled Substances Act withimporting, conspiracy to import and conspiracy to produce Ecstasy.
The RCMP have also issued arrest warrants for three other people believed to be out of the country.
Hey
Party at my freighter impound yard tonight! Lets take some xtasy! hehehehe :P
Be there or be square ;)
Almost five tons.
Dat's a lotta water chestnuts, eh?
I got my glowsticks and baby pacifer all ready.
Ok, but I gotta ask.....
What happened to those water chestnuts?
When water chestnuts are outlawed, only outlaws will have water chestnuts.
Brilliant manuever. No Chinese restaurent uses water chestnuts anymore. That's Frisco CHinee.
What a bunch of idiots.
Even the port police in Canada know more about Chinese Food.
What is this stuff? I hear it mentioned from time to time, but have no clue. I'm guessing from the name that it makes people feel "happy" but... for us "un-hip" country folk, what does it do, exactly? Anybody?
Another good job by Sgt. Preston & his trusty dog King.
I'm not sure if it's similar to heroin, but it has crystal meth in it which is supposed to intensify emotions, or something like that.
Anybody else want to take a stab at this one?
Sure, if you don't mind me going completely from memory on this one. Ecstacy (or MDMA as it's known in the medical world) was used back in the 60s-early 70s in marriage counseling and group therapy. It worked great for a while because when a person is on MDMA they're senses of touch and sight are incredibly enhanced which is why ravers carry around things like glow sticks to watch "tracers"--or a blurring sensation generated by the eyes--eminate from them as they move around. It also creates very euphoric emotions, like UpHereEh mentioned, hence it's use in group therapy back in the day.
Well, people started dying from it (MDMA causes the body's core body temperature to skyrocket, frying the central nervous system) and around '85 I believe MDMA was officially banned. A few years later it became a new club drug and that lead to the illegal "raves" which are essentially excuses for people to try ecstasy and see how close they can get to contracting an STD.
Sidenote: A poster above mentioned baby pacifiers and pacifiers are big with ravers. The reason for this is that people who are on "E" tend to grind their teeth subconsciously and the use of the binkie alleviates that and the headaches it causes from teeth grinding.
If I left anything out here, feel free to correct me.
Wow - thanks. That was very informative for us "hicks in the sticks."
Proud_USA_Republican wrote:
"I got my glowsticks and baby pacifer all ready."
--LOL, don't forget your diapers, it's gonna be a nonstop party :)
"frying the central nervous system"
Yikes, that is just chilling, it's no wonder they want this stuff off the streets.
Thanks GOP_Raider for the explanation.
The border guards must be on an ecstasy busting roll tonight because this just came up on the Canadian newswire:
Woman caught with Ecstasy - Ill. resident is accused of smuggling 1,323 pills from Windsor into Detroit, authorities say.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060113/METRO01/601130358/1006
One kid actually died from drinking TOO MUCH WATER.
What the heck ever happened to teenagers smoking pot?
How much you wanna bet that's Kim Jong Il's load of Ecstasy?
He already owns the asian meth market...
I'll see your bet and raise you $20 ;)
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