- The stimulant drug 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
(MDMA) - popularly known as "Ecstasy" - is flooding the globe,
finding favor among young abusers who crave its hallucinogenic effects.
There is no accepted medical use for MDMA, but, according to a new study
by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), "Israeli
and Russian criminal groups now dominate MDMA smuggling to the United
States."
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- The report adds: "Israeli organized crime syndicates
has gained a foothold in the United States. Moreover, these organizations
have proven to be capable of producing and smuggling significant quantities
of MDMA from source countries in Europe to the United States, expanding
from coast to coast, enabling a relatively few organizations to dominate
MDMA markets nationwide."
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- MDMA was discovered in Germany in 1913 and patented by
a pharmaceutical company in 1914. It was intended as a weight-loss drug,
but because of its side-effects MDMA was never marketed.
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- MDMA is taken orally, usually in tablet or capsule form,
and its effects last approximately four to six hours. Abusers of the drug
report feeling a heightened sense of awareness as well as a feeling of
increased empathy or emotional closeness to others. The production of MDMA
in clandestine laboratories, its increasing abuse among young people and
evidence of adverse health effects, including brain damage, led to the
DEA's emergency classification of MDMA as an illegal drug in 1985.
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- The DEA reports that Israeli organized crime syndicates
- often working in partnership with Russian criminals - operate several
clandestine MDMA laboratories operating throughout Western Europe,
primarily
the Netherlands and Belgium.
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- The drug is manufactured in tablet, capsule or powder
form. Raw materials are obtained from chemical supply companies for a few
cents a pound. A kilogram of Ecstasy powder will yield 3,000 tablets. Drug
dealers in the United States can sell a single dose of the drug for
$30.
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- The effects of long-term MDMA use are just beginning
to undergo scientific analysis. In 1998, the National Institute of Mental
Health conducted a study of a small group of habitual MDMA users who were
abstaining from use. The study revealed that the abstinent users suffered
damage to the neurons in the brain that transmit serotonin, an important
biochemical involved in a variety of critical functions including learning,
sleep and integration of emotion. The results of the study indicate that
recreational MDMA users may be at risk of developing permanent brain damage
that may manifest itself in depression, anxiety, memory loss, and other
neuropsychotic disorders.
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- Although the vast majority of MDMA consumed domestically
is produced in Europe, a limited number of MDMA labs operate in the United
States. In addition, in recent years, Israeli organized crime syndicates,
some composed of Russian émigrés associated with Russian
organized crime syndicates, have forged relationships with Western European
traffickers and gained control over a significant share of the European
market. According to the DEA, Israeli syndicates are currently the primary
source to US distribution groups.
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- Overseas MDMA trafficking organizations smuggle the drug
in shipments of 10,000 or more tablets via express mail services, couriers
aboard commercial airline flights, or, more recently, through air freight
shipments from several major European cities to cities in the United
States.
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- According to the DEA, Israeli and Russian drug cartels
are closely associated and often cooperate with one another. "Many
of the Russian traffickers immigrated to Israel both before and after the
fall of the Soviet Union," says the DEA report. "Now many of
the Israeli-Russian traffickers have acquired US citizenship."
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- The DEA says Israeli and Russian drug cartels use similar
smuggling and concealment techniques, using couriers, express mail
services,
and sea containers. A review of DEA investigations dating back to 1997
shows that Israeli and Russian drug cartels have established MDMA
importation
hubs in Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington,
DC According to the DEA, both the Israelis and Russians "have
developed
a working relationship in the smuggling of MDMA to the United States
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- http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=14616
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