Pubdate: Wed, 25 Aug 2004
Source: Vancouver Sun (CN BC)
Copyright: 2004 The Vancouver Sun
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/477
Author: Krisendra Bisetty

ECSTASY INGREDIENT FOUND ON SHIP

VANCOUVER - In the biggest raid of its kind -- drugs worth an estimated 
$212 million on the street -- a multi-agency investigation has led to 
seizure in Vancouver of enough chemicals to produce more than 21.2 million 
doses of ecstasy.

Three Lower Mainland men have been arrested -- a fourth is still being 
sought -- and a organized crime plot shattered in the month-long 
investigation by Canada Border Services Agency, the RCMP, Combined Special 
Forces Enforcement Unit and Health Canada.

The substance, used in the manufacture of crystal ecstacy, was aboard a 
cargo ship en route from the Chinese port of Shenzhen to Vancouver. It was 
intercepted by CBSA officers July 21 following a tip, Daniela Evans, chief 
of marine operations with the Canada Border Services Agency, told a media 
briefing in Vancouver Tuesday.

Documents presented to the border services agency indicated the shipment 
contained 400 cartons of soy sauce and 450 cartons of rice noodles.

However, when examined, it was found that 66 cartons labelled as soy sauce 
actually contained jugs filled with a suspicious yellow liquid, identified 
later by Health Canada as MDP2P, a controlled "Class A" precursor -- a 
substance from which another substance is formed -- used in the manufacture 
of ecstacy.

Evans said the quantity was enough to manufacture more than 21.2 million 
doses of crystal ecstacy, which was almost 10 times the amount of the drug 
previously seized.

At about $10 a dose, the drugs would have an estimated street value of $212 
million.

In September 2003, 2.6 million doses of powdered ecstacy were found in a 
container of potato starch from the Netherlands.

The RCMP became involved in the current investigation July 21 and made a 
controlled delivery of the precursor from CBSA's custody at the Deltaport 
to a Vancouver storage facility where, RCMP Sgt. Dave Goddard said, some of 
the arrests were made. He would not disclose the name of the facility.

When investigators identified that the suspects were involved in a major 
inter-provincial, multi-drug smuggling operation between Vancouver and 
Toronto, members of the Combined Special Forces Enforcement Unit in Toronto 
became involved.

Goddard described the investigation as a collaborative effort by hundreds 
of officers from several agencies.

Burnaby resident Peter Sum Li, 54, Go Fu Feng, 38, of Richmond and Bryan 
King Chun Tsang of Vancouver are due to return to court today for a bail 
hearing.

A Canada-wide warrant for the arrest of a fourth suspect, Xiao Bai Ma, 30, 
of Toronto, has been issued.

All four were jointly charged with conspiracy to produce ecstacy, while Li 
has also been charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking 
ecstacy, cocaine and marijuana.

Further charges are pending in connection with the seizure of 603 kilograms 
of marijuana from a cargo rail shipment in Toronto Aug. 20.

Court records reveal that Li was charged with 12 counts of fraud in 2002. 
That case is not yet over.

Evans said this was the first liquid precursor seizure in Canada, although 
Richard Laing, acting manager for Health Canada's drug analysis services 
western region laboratory, acknowledged that it had been "seen before" in 
clandestine laboratories where ecstacy was manufactured.

Health Canada's Drug Analysis Service analyses about 90,000 samples a year 
of suspected illegal drugs seized by Canadian police forces and Canada Customs.

MDP2P is an industrial chemical with potential uses in the manufacture of 
pesticides but was not manufactured in Canada and was not being used here 
for that purpose, Laing said.

Vancouver and suburbs have had significant numbers of clandestine 
laboratories, of which about 75 per cent manufacture methamphetamine, speed 
or "crystal meth" and 20 per cent manufacture ecstacy.

"These laboratories vary in degree of scale, sophistication and resources 
and you have everything from kitchen labs in condominiums to large scale 
commercial operations," Laing said.

- - - -

THE HAUL

Along with 1,778 kilos of the chemical MDP2P, also seized from separate 
locations in Vancouver and Toronto were:

- - $730,280 in Canadian currency and $72,090 U.S.

- - 724 kilos of marijuana

- - 71 kilos of powdered ecstasy

- - 12 kilos of cocaine

- - 650 cartons of cigarettes
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart