Ecstasy Wars Stacey Dooley Investigates


Ecstasy Wars

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This programme contains some strong language and some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.

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'All over the world, hundreds of thousands of people are fighting a hidden war.

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'How it ends could affect us all. It's the war on drugs.

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'Despite a recent crackdown,

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'use of many drugs is continuing to spiral.

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'So, I'm travelling across three continents

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'to investigate the latest drugs to hit the market.

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'I want to know who's really behind the narcotics trade.

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'And what the authorities are doing to stamp it out.

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'In South Africa,

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'I uncover a new stronger strain of cannabis

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'being smuggled to Britain.'

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This is going to E16, East London.

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But I know exactly where that is.

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'I travel to Mexico

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'where I discover brutal cartels

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'making methamphetamine on an industrial scale.'

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I mean, you see how tiny it is on that knife

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and then you see how many huge bags we've got here.

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Gives you an indication of how many people

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would get very high off of this.

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'Tonight, I investigate the changing face

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'of the world's best selling dance drug - ecstasy.'

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So, you can literally throw anything in,

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and to the kids on the street, aw, it looks spot on.

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Exactly. They have no idea what's in there.

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'I meet those making big money selling E.'

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-Seven to ten...thousand?

-Mm-hm.

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'I join the police as they take down a back street lab.'

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When they take over warehouses, they're big.

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I meet those risking their lives taking new synthetic drugs.

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'You've taken it? Yeah?'

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'And on the streets, I see the effects

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'as these deadly new cocktails take hold.'

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-Do you know where he's taken?

-No-one knows.

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-MAN GROANS

-That's crazy, it's like crazy.

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This programme contains some strong language

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This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting

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My journey starts here, in the Cambodian jungle,

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6,000 miles from the UK.

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I'm following the global trade route

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of the biggest-selling party drug in the world, ecstasy,

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or to use its proper name, MDMA.

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HELICOPTER BLADES SPIN

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One of the key ingredients when manufacturing MDMA

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is something called safrole oil,

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and typically, this oil is found in particular trees

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here in the Cambodian jungle,

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so today, I'm going to spend some time with the national organisation

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to find out more.

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Whoo!

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'The worldwide trade in ecstasy is huge.

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'It's estimated there are half a million users in the UK alone,

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'and it all starts down there.'

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Yeah, just fly over that, and then up the river.

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'These forests contain

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'some of the most sought-after trees in the world.'

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This is quite something.

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Yeah, welcome to the Cardamoms.

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'We're on the hunt for illegal loggers.

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Hidden under cover,

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teams of men are cutting down these trees

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for the natural oil they contain.

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The oil is mostly intense in the roots,

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so they'll usually chop the whole tree down

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and then dig out all the roots and the lower base of the stem.

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'Toby Eastoe's job is to look for anything suspicious.'

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Do you see any clearings here?

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'Any sign of life could mean logging teams are in the area,

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'harvesting this wood for its valuable oil.'

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You're mainly looking on the rivers

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for small clearings or any change,

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just like below us there.

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Oh, I can see there's a bit of clearance.

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That might be an old factory just there.

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Well, you're looking for little shacks

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or, like, tarps, they'll have a tarp up.

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-Where people will be temporarily living.

-Yeah, yeah.

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But, er, if you see any human habitation, let me know.

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-My gosh, it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

-Yep.

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'After an hour, I spot signs of life on the ground.'

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There's a clearing down here, on the left.

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Yeah, anything that's on the river like that is suspect.

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'It looks like a new team logging for oil.'

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-Yeah, there's a person there.

-I think there's someone there.

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-They just came out.

-Yeah, I see him.

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'It's too dangerous to land,

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'so Toby takes the GPS coordinates

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'and will send team in on the ground.'

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It's unbelievable that we've just stumbled across that, isn't it?

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Yeah, we've can at least get a group

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to start going in there and flush those guys out.

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I'd be really interested to know how many people who take MDMA

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realise that this is where it all starts.

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Yeah, I don't think they realise,

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and it would be nice if they got the message

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that taking MDMA, taking ecstasy,

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you know, the root of it is cutting down forests.

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I wanted to find out how successful the rangers are

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at stopping the illegal loggers,

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so I've travelled 100 miles deeper into the forest.

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-Hello.

-Hello.

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-How do you do?

-Fine, thank you.

-Peng Lee?

-Peng Lee, yes.

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-Very, very nice to meet you. Thank you for having me.

-OK, yes.

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Show me what you find, what you've got here.

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Er, this is our safrole oils.

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-And...

-So this is the safrole oil?

-Yeah.

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'The rangers here have just made one of their biggest ever busts.

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'All of these drums of safrole oil

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'were found buried in the jungle,

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'destined for the international drugs market.'

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Maybe thousands and thousands of litres here.

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Um, about...

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More than 2,000...kg.

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More than two tonnes.

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-You can see and smell it.

-So here, is it?

-Yes.

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-Yeah.

-Strong smell?

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-Like liquorice.

-Yes.

-Aniseed.

-Yeah.

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And the people that are responsible for trying to smuggle this oil,

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or they're producing it in the factories, who are they?

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They are Cambodian,

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but we don't know where they bring it to.

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-You have no idea?

-No idea.

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'This oil could have made millions of dollars of MDMA,

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'and this wasn't all the rangers seized.'

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And some weapons.

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-Weapons?

-Yeah.

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-Woo-hoo!

-To protect their team.

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My gosh, this is unbelievable.

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And these are all, what, machine guns here?

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Yeah, machine guns.

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AK.

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-AK-47.

-Can I see?

-Yes.

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Still, can use, can be used.

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-It's still working, yeah?

-Still working.

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Some people held it to protect their team or for hunting.

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If they come against you, you are the enemy.

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-They don't want to see the rangers.

-Yeah, yeah.

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-Risky job for the ranger.

-Yeah.

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-Not messing.

-Yeah.

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Whoof!

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Aladdin's cave.

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'I was really keen to see where the oil comes from.'

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So, Peng Lee, the trees which we are interested in are nearby?

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Yeah, yeah. You can see the tree from here,

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the high tree.

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'Just a few metres from the road, and close to the rangers station,

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'there's a clear sign the criminal gangs are active here.'

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So, this is it here,

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the tree that holds the safrole oil

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that everyone's so keen to get their hands on.

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So it's just done with a chainsaw, is it?

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So is there a specific time when the illegal loggers like to work?

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'The wood is then cut up into small chips

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'and boiled in huge vats to extract the valuable oil.'

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-Wow, that smells incredibly strong.

-Yeah, strong.

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It's exactly like liquorice.

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As night falls, I've been invited to join the rangers

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on a routine patrol.

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The only way to catch the loggers is to go in on the ground.

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So our guys are about to set off on night patrol.

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My understanding is that they're wanting to set up this ambush.

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So they're hoping to catch these loggers,

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who often prefer to work at night, in action.

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A couple of the guys are armed. I've no idea what to expect.

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MOTORCYCLE ENGINES RUMBLE

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Whoo!

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So, you get nervous sometimes?

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-Yeah.

-Yeah?

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'It's like a game of cat and mouse,

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'but the rangers are small in numbers

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'against the hundreds of illegal loggers

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'working in these forests.'

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Do you feel like tonight might be your night?

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Yes.

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I smell something fishy.

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SHE LAUGHS

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-You can feel something fishy around here?

-Yeah.

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I know you were saying to me, on the bike,

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it's very important to keep a low profile, we must be very quiet.

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Yes.

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So, I think the idea is that

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they're going to make sure their bikes are tucked away nicely.

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A couple of them will then make their way over to the roadside

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and keep their eyes peeled

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and if they see anything that looks suspicious,

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they'll let everyone else know.

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'The rangers plan to spend all night in their hunt for the loggers,

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'who are notoriously hard to catch.'

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So the rangers have set everything up

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and that's them here for the night now.

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It's really important that I don't jeopardise

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the potential ambush.

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So we've got to keep everything very quiet,

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we can't really go into details.

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I'm going to go and sit up the side road with Peng Lee

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and see what happens.

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Thank you.

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'But despite waiting for hours, nothing.

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'It seems the loggers have given us the slip.'

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So, so far, no joy for the rangers.

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I mean, I can tell you from first-hand experience,

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it's not an easy gig they've got.

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We have been sat on the side of the road

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in pitch-black silence for hours,

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and nothing.

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But the others are still down there now

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and they've agreed that they'll ring Peng Lee and I

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if they find anything.

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With millions of acres to patrol

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and hundreds of routes out of the forest,

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it's not surprising safrole oil is still slipping through.

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I want to know where it ends up next,

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so, for me, it's a 7,000-mile flight...

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to Canada.

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This is Vancouver, on Canada's west coast.

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It's one of the safest and most affluent places on the planet.

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I'm here to find out why this city has become

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the world's capital for ecstasy production.

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'Mike Hager is a Vancouver journalist

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'who's spent years investigating why this unlikely city

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'has become so central in the production of drugs.'

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So this is it, this is the biggest port in Canada.

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Well, this is Canada's gateway to the Pacific,

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it's its biggest port.

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More than 3,000 container ships each year come through here.

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And where from mostly?

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-Mostly East Asia...

-Southeast Asia.

-..South Asia.

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Places like Cambodia, China, India.

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And often carrying things that we need for the MDMA production.

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That's correct, yeah.

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I've heard from various sources in law enforcement

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that 5% or less of the drugs coming though these containers

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is actually seized by authorities.

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A couple of years ago in BC's northern port, Prince Rupert,

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they found 552 barrels coming from China labelled as glycerine.

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Labelled as glycerine, but not glycerine?

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Not glycerine, precursor.

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The safrole that I saw in Cambodia

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is the precursor or raw material needed to make MDMA.

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And it's not just these smugglers

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that are keeping Vancouver's cops busy.

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I've hooked up with Sergeant Eric Boechler

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of the city's drug unit

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whose job it is to hunt down the many illegal labs popping up here.

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So there's been another call from the drug squad,

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and they've said that they've been called out this morning

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to another lab.

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So I'm heading there now and I'm going to see what we can get.

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'Fire crews called to a routine alarm this morning

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'stumbled across a new illegal drugs lab.'

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We're not sure what this is, but, typically, in Richmond,

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when they take over warehouses, they're big.

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I think this is going to be a substantial find.

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Yeah, it sounds it.

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Do we have any idea who was operating this lab?

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-No.

-No?

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OK, so the guys on the ground now

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are just waiting for a search warrant

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so they're able to go into the lab and see what they're dealing with,

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but the fire department have suggested

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that there may be around eight heating vessels,

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which I'm told is, you know, a reasonable-sized lab.

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'They've said it's too dangerous for me to go in.

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'The chemicals used in synthetic drug production

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'are highly flammable and poisonous.'

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Before the guys are allowed go into the lab,

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they have to have their vitals checked.

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So, their blood pressure, their temperature, things like that,

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so if they feel a bit out of sort, a bit unwell when they come out,

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then they've got something to compare it to.

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'And chemicals aren't the only danger.'

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So the guys that are in the grey overalls are from the police.

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And I don't know whether or not you can see,

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but they've still got their weapons on their thighs.

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You know, there's every chance that

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somebody who's involved within this operation

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could still be in the lab.

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'Sergeant Eric Boechler is often one of the first in.'

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-Eric, you ready to go in there?

-Absolutely.

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Not sure yet what it's manufacturing,

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but we're going to go and take a look and get samples.

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And the chemicals in there can be very hazardous.

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Yes, and a lot of them aren't properly labelled,

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so we really don't know what we are dealing with

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until we get in there and have a better look.

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We're going to be going in,

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getting a bunch of evidence, looking to fingerprint things.

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And then, we'll do a follow up with

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who owns or associates with that building.

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'The team here in Vancouver are now taking down illegal labs

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'two or three times every month.

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'It's a slow, painstaking job.'

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There's definitely a lot going on.

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So, you can see these guys are in and out

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and they're constantly bringing products, the apparatus,

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things like that.

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These guys on this table are taking samples of everything

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that is found in the lab.

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And then, we've got this gent here, and he's searching for fingerprints.

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So, a guy's just brought a glass slab out,

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and it looks like that's the synthetic drug.

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'Dismantling an illegal operation this big can last many days.

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'For Eric, it's another lab successfully busted.'

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And given what you've seen and given how much stuff was in there,

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do you reckon it was a fairly decent size?

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Definitely a good-sized lab.

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How many drugs do you think could have been produced from this spot?

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Er, probably going to be able to, you know,

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at least a couple of kilos of finished product a week, easily.

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-So thousands of pills?

-Yep.

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And any ideas who's behind this?

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Not yet, but we should be able to find out fairly easy

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with talking to neighbours and witnesses in the area.

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Residential areas and neighbourhoods like these

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provide the perfect location for a lab.

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The first thing anyone living nearby knows about it

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is when something goes wrong.

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Yeah, it's been a mad busy day for these guys.

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You know, we're 14 hours in

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and they're just packing up now, they'll be back tomorrow.

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But, the idea, you know,

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that there were these people sat down in a Chinese restaurant...

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when all the while, you know, ten metres upstairs,

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there was this well-established, operating synthetic drugs lab

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is just...mind blowing.

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Eric wanted to show me one of the police's biggest successes.

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A massive lab was taken down just a few months ago.

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Actually, I've got footage here,

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if you want to have a quick look, of our team going inside.

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OK, so this is when it actually happened.

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Looks like a movie, doesn't it?

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That's the large reaction vessel, the big stainless steel unit.

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-And is that where the MDMA is cooked?

-That's right.

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And there's one of the other large reaction stirring units.

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How many pills, typically, would something like this

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be able to churn out a week?

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Somewhere in the realm of about 50kg of finished product a week.

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That would equate to about a half million pills.

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-A week?

-That's right.

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-Half a million pills a week...

-That's right.

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-..could've come out a lab like this.

-Absolutely.

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But it appears the war on drugs might be backfiring.

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As the rangers in Cambodia

0:17:500:17:52

are slowing down the trade in safrole,

0:17:520:17:54

the cooks here in Canada are turning to other chemicals or precursors

0:17:540:17:58

to get to their finished product.

0:17:580:18:00

What we're now finding is

0:18:020:18:03

a lot of these cooks are looking for

0:18:030:18:05

other different synthesis routes and precursor chemicals,

0:18:050:18:08

as safrole's very tough to obtain.

0:18:080:18:10

So they're getting these different chemicals

0:18:100:18:12

that are easier to get and then to cook with those

0:18:120:18:14

and produce an MDA instead of the MDMA.

0:18:140:18:16

That's really interesting.

0:18:160:18:17

So, like you say, we all know that safrole

0:18:170:18:19

is one of the key ingredients when it comes to making pure MDMA.

0:18:190:18:24

-That's right.

-But it's so tricky to get hold of,

0:18:240:18:26

they're now looking for other alternatives.

0:18:260:18:28

Absolutely, so they're looking for different precursor chemicals

0:18:280:18:31

-that they can substitute in for that safrole.

-Ya-huh.

0:18:310:18:33

'I was really keen to see some of these alternatives to MDMA.

0:18:360:18:40

'This is the police's secret storage site.

0:18:410:18:44

'Everything seized from a drugs bust ends up here.'

0:18:440:18:47

It's crazy, isn't it?

0:18:470:18:48

Everything is...so well protected,

0:18:480:18:51

but you can still smell the chemicals in the air.

0:18:510:18:53

Absolutely, it's such a potent amount of chemicals.

0:18:530:18:56

There's various different, containers here that we keep

0:18:560:18:58

all of our precursor chemicals, the solvents,

0:18:580:19:00

everything that we seize

0:19:000:19:02

while it awaits that court-authorised destruction.

0:19:020:19:04

I mean, the thing that I find quite nuts

0:19:080:19:10

is, you know, I'm having to stand this far away

0:19:100:19:12

and the guys are completely kitted out...

0:19:120:19:15

yet, this is the stuff that the kids are buying voluntarily.

0:19:150:19:18

You know, they're desperate for this.

0:19:180:19:20

So, this is it right?

0:19:260:19:27

This is it here.

0:19:270:19:28

-This is MDA in solution.

-In solution.

0:19:280:19:31

So you can see at the top bit, it's just separating a bit now,

0:19:310:19:34

that's just the solvent layer

0:19:340:19:35

and then down below is the thicker MDA in solution.

0:19:350:19:38

'MDA is very similar to MDMA.

0:19:400:19:43

'In fact it's just a simple change in the molecular structure,

0:19:430:19:47

'which is why the drug dealers here

0:19:470:19:48

'have coined a new name for ecstasy, molly.

0:19:480:19:52

They're different chemical structure

0:19:520:19:54

used, made from a different chemical reaction or precursor chemical.

0:19:540:19:58

However, they're often sold as the same item.

0:19:580:20:00

-It'll be sold as MDMA.

-Or molly.

-That's right.

0:20:000:20:03

What are the risks of taking these new drugs?

0:20:070:20:10

I've come to the government's lab.

0:20:110:20:13

It's here that every new drug that hits the street is analysed.

0:20:130:20:17

Waft the fumes.

0:20:190:20:21

I know this smell.

0:20:220:20:25

Liquorice, it's safrole oil.

0:20:250:20:26

-That's...

-Safrole.

-This is safrole.

0:20:260:20:29

'I've come to meet Dr Richard Laing,

0:20:290:20:31

'a leading expert on the production of synthetic drugs.'

0:20:310:20:34

Because it's hard to get safrole,

0:20:340:20:36

now we find a lot of different means and methods

0:20:360:20:39

to try to divert other types of chemicals.

0:20:390:20:43

And those are all new and novel that are, essentially,

0:20:430:20:47

never been seen before in manufacturing drugs.

0:20:470:20:50

So, effectively, trying to replace the safrole oil.

0:20:500:20:54

Exactly.

0:20:540:20:55

Exactly. And some of these methods are compounds

0:20:550:20:58

that no-one knows anything about,

0:20:580:21:00

never seen them before until we discover them in a lab

0:21:000:21:02

and realise, "Hey, we can make drugs from them."

0:21:020:21:04

'And these drugs are simply thrown together in a machine like this.'

0:21:060:21:10

So, this is it, this is the pill presser in all its glory.

0:21:110:21:15

Sure is.

0:21:150:21:16

You can put anything in the pills you like.

0:21:180:21:20

You can put paint, you can go from white tablets to pink to blue...

0:21:200:21:23

That's the scary thing, you say it there though.

0:21:230:21:25

You can literally put anything, you can throw any old crap

0:21:250:21:28

in this pill presser

0:21:280:21:30

and they'll come out looking reasonably sophisticated.

0:21:300:21:32

to the kids on the street buying what they think's molly,

0:21:320:21:34

"Oh, it looks spot on."

0:21:340:21:36

Exactly.

0:21:360:21:37

They have no idea what's in there.

0:21:370:21:39

To tell you the truth, I don't even know what's in there right now.

0:21:390:21:41

'And if experts like Richard don't know,

0:21:410:21:44

'the health concerns are pretty obvious.'

0:21:440:21:45

You know, young people don't think about their future too much,

0:21:450:21:48

but when you get to be 60 years old

0:21:480:21:50

and all of a sudden, you have problems with kidneys and liver

0:21:500:21:53

and it's because, or...brain damage,

0:21:530:21:56

and it's all because of what you took when you were 15 or 16...

0:21:560:22:00

That's a pretty, pretty high toll to pay for...youth indulgence.

0:22:000:22:05

But the immediate effects of these new and unknown drugs

0:22:130:22:16

are also being felt now.

0:22:160:22:18

-Hello, Cathy.

-Hi.

-How do you do?

-I'm fine, thank you.

0:22:190:22:22

Lovely to see you, thank you for having me.

0:22:220:22:24

'I've come to meet Cathy McCormack,

0:22:240:22:26

'whose daughter Cheryl took MDMA for several years.'

0:22:260:22:30

This is her room.

0:22:300:22:31

-Nice and bright...

-Yeah.

-..just the way she left it.

0:22:330:22:36

-Yeah, like a typical 17-year-old's room, right?

-Mm-hm.

0:22:370:22:40

-Apart from, like, it's very clean.

-THEY LAUGH

0:22:400:22:43

Well, that's new. STACEY LAUGHS

0:22:430:22:45

That wasn't her doing?

0:22:450:22:47

That wasn't her doing, no, no.

0:22:470:22:50

-All her pictures of all of her pals from school.

-Mm-hm.

0:22:500:22:54

-Can I have a look?

-Yeah.

0:22:540:22:56

-So this is her in her rugby gear?

-That's her rugby, yeah.

0:22:560:22:59

That was one of her big passions.

0:22:590:23:01

She wasn't really overly athletic,

0:23:010:23:03

-but she did like her rugby.

-She was into rugby, yeah?

0:23:030:23:06

-Oh, wow. So this was when she was baby, baby.

-Mm-hm.

0:23:070:23:10

Isn't she lovely?

0:23:110:23:13

Yeah...

0:23:140:23:15

Silly girls...

0:23:160:23:18

..and stupid mistakes.

0:23:200:23:22

Yeah.

0:23:230:23:24

'On this night, Cheryl took what she believed was MDMA.

0:23:310:23:35

'It wasn't.

0:23:350:23:36

'The cook had switched from safrole to another oil,

0:23:380:23:41

'with deadly consequences.

0:23:410:23:43

'Within hours, Cheryl was fighting for her life.'

0:23:450:23:48

There was two days of not knowing if she was going to live or not live,

0:23:480:23:52

and they finally said, "She's not going to make it."

0:23:520:23:55

And she went.

0:23:560:23:58

So, and that was three days before Christmas

0:23:580:24:01

So, needless to say, that's not my favourite season any more.

0:24:030:24:07

But, er, yeah.

0:24:070:24:09

-So...

-My gosh.

-Yeah.

0:24:100:24:12

Do you know why your Cheryl died?

0:24:140:24:18

She got PMMA instead of MDMA.

0:24:180:24:23

-Right.

-And...

0:24:230:24:25

..she thought she was getting MDMA, but it wasn't...

0:24:260:24:29

And so that's... They didn't find that out

0:24:290:24:32

till after the fact, of course, that that's what it was.

0:24:320:24:34

But they knew at the hospital immediately

0:24:340:24:36

that they were not dealing with just MDMA in her system,

0:24:360:24:40

but they didn't know what it was,

0:24:400:24:42

didn't know how to treat it.

0:24:420:24:43

And me being naive I said, "You know, she has a cold,

0:24:430:24:45

"maybe she took some cold medicine,"

0:24:450:24:47

thinking that that might have reacted with it.

0:24:470:24:49

But, no, they knew they were dealing with something much, much...

0:24:490:24:54

more than that, they just didn't know what.

0:24:540:24:56

It's always incredibly difficult, isn't it?

0:24:590:25:02

Listening to Mum talk about how she's lost her 17-year-old.

0:25:020:25:07

But I think what it does is it highlights...

0:25:070:25:09

..how you never really know what it is that you're taking.

0:25:110:25:15

I want to understand exactly how two very similar drugs

0:25:190:25:23

can cause such different reactions.

0:25:230:25:25

-So...this one here, right?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

0:25:260:25:30

'Drew was Cheryl's best friend.'

0:25:300:25:32

I try to do something, like, different every year,

0:25:320:25:34

like, in honour of her.

0:25:340:25:36

'She called the emergency services on the night Cheryl died.'

0:25:360:25:40

I have a copy of it.

0:25:410:25:43

-You have a copy of the actual call?

-Yeah, of me making the call.

0:25:430:25:45

TELEPHONE RECORDING: Sorry, it's a really big emergency.

0:25:450:25:48

I think my friend is having withdrawal

0:25:480:25:49

and she's, like, not responding any more.

0:25:490:25:51

-OPERATOR:

-Is there anything in her mouth?

-I can't get her mouth open.

0:25:510:25:54

-MAN:

-Her mouth is clenched.

-It's clenched shut.

0:25:540:25:56

-She's got it clenched?

-Yes.

0:25:560:25:59

So, we have no idea why she's acting like this?

0:25:590:26:01

-No, I know why.

-Why?

0:26:030:26:05

-Because she's overdosing.

-On what?

0:26:050:26:08

-MDMA. It's like...

-Ecstasy.

-..it's ecstasy.

0:26:080:26:13

I'm really scared right now.

0:26:130:26:15

My God.

0:26:150:26:16

So that's that.

0:26:180:26:19

It's hard listening to, just, for how scared I was, I guess.

0:26:190:26:22

And I just didn't really know what to do, so...

0:26:220:26:25

It was just freaky.

0:26:250:26:26

And I didn't think we'd be in that situation at all and...

0:26:260:26:30

It was just, it was tough.

0:26:300:26:32

'Cheryl and Drew had done MDMA many times before.

0:26:320:26:36

'They believed they were safe.'

0:26:360:26:38

When I started doing it, I did it so much.

0:26:380:26:40

Like, cos, it's like, after the first time, it's so fun.

0:26:400:26:44

And you're just like, "Yeah!" like, "I want to keep doing this."

0:26:440:26:47

And then, once Cheryl started doing it with me,

0:26:470:26:49

like, we did it all the time, like, at school, at sleepovers.

0:26:490:26:53

-At school?

-Yeah, we did it at school.

0:26:530:26:56

We did it all the time.

0:26:560:26:57

So what time did you end up taking the pills?

0:26:570:26:59

At 9.30.

0:26:590:27:01

How many had you taken each?

0:27:010:27:03

-Only one...at the beginning.

-Right, so everyone had taken one.

0:27:030:27:06

Yeah, we all had taken one.

0:27:060:27:07

But, then, after about an hour,

0:27:070:27:09

it wasn't really affecting us the way that it should have been,

0:27:090:27:12

so we were like, "OK, well, like, let's take one more,

0:27:120:27:14

"like, it's not that big of a deal."

0:27:140:27:16

And so we all took one more, but then at that time, Cheryl had taken two.

0:27:160:27:22

'While the drug looked like their normal MDMA,

0:27:220:27:24

'there was a deadly difference.

0:27:240:27:26

'It was, in fact, twice as strong,

0:27:260:27:28

'and crucially, took a longer time to take effect.

0:27:280:27:32

'By now, Cheryl had taken way more than her usual dosage.'

0:27:320:27:36

She looked at me and just started mumbling.

0:27:370:27:40

I couldn't even make out what she was saying.

0:27:400:27:42

It was so quick and so, er, it was so freaky.

0:27:420:27:45

And then I was like, "OK, we need to call 911 now,

0:27:450:27:50

"like, something's not right."

0:27:500:27:51

And she looked at me and she just said, like,

0:27:510:27:56

"You only need to call 911 if they become unresponsive."

0:27:560:27:59

and that was when she went unconscious.

0:27:590:28:02

So, that was the last thing she ever said to me.

0:28:030:28:05

'It's believed at least five young people died

0:28:080:28:11

'from this one batch of PMMA.

0:28:110:28:14

'The police found the lab and it was closed down.

0:28:140:28:17

'The cook was arrested.

0:28:170:28:19

'What had begun as a bit of teenage fun ended in tragedy.'

0:28:190:28:23

You know, they were a young crowd who just wanted to have fun.

0:28:250:28:29

And they'd done it so many times before.

0:28:290:28:32

You know, they thought they knew what they had to do,

0:28:320:28:35

what would happen.

0:28:350:28:36

It wasn't until it started going slightly differently

0:28:380:28:41

that alarm bells started ringing.

0:28:410:28:42

And I think it just really highlights the fact

0:28:420:28:45

that you can think you're on top of it,

0:28:450:28:46

you can think you know what you're taking.

0:28:460:28:49

But there's no real way of ever being truly certain.

0:28:490:28:52

You know, there's always going to be that element of risk and...

0:28:520:28:55

..unfortunately, for these girls, you know,

0:28:560:28:58

they've learnt that the hard way.

0:28:580:29:00

The problem of illegal drugs

0:29:080:29:10

containing unknown and possibly dangerous chemicals

0:29:100:29:13

goes much wider than ecstasy...

0:29:130:29:15

..as I was to discover when I visited East Hastings in Vancouver

0:29:180:29:22

that's known as the heroin capital of Canada.

0:29:220:29:25

Suddenly, there's an emergency.

0:29:280:29:31

'A user on the street has overdosed.

0:29:370:29:40

'He's still alive...just.'

0:29:400:29:42

-Somebody's called

-911? Yes.

0:29:420:29:45

'The team from a nearby clinic,

0:29:450:29:46

'fearing this is more than just heroin,

0:29:460:29:48

'leap into action.'

0:29:480:29:50

-Do you know what he's taken.

-No-one knows.

0:29:500:29:53

Definitely heroin, but maybe mixed with something else.

0:29:530:29:56

MAN GROANS

0:29:560:29:59

There we go. You've had an overdose.

0:29:590:30:02

Yeah, yeah. Welcome back, buddy.

0:30:020:30:05

Just keep taking breaths, OK?

0:30:050:30:06

No, keep that on, suck some air.

0:30:060:30:08

I was having a chat with someone and somebody ran through

0:30:080:30:10

and said, "Someone's OD'ing outside, someone's OD'ing outside."

0:30:100:30:14

So, I just followed this guy.

0:30:140:30:16

He brought the gas, he brought this box which is full of equipment.

0:30:160:30:21

And I'm speaking to this lady here

0:30:210:30:22

and she saying if they hadn't come at the time they did,

0:30:220:30:25

there's every chance that he could have died.

0:30:250:30:28

A perfect example of how huge a problem this is.

0:30:280:30:31

They don't know what he's taken.

0:30:310:30:33

It's crazy, it's, like, crazy.

0:30:330:30:36

'After 15 minutes of treatment

0:30:360:30:38

'and receiving specialist anti-overdose medication,

0:30:380:30:41

'the man is stable enough to be taken to hospital.

0:30:410:30:45

'Darwin Fisher runs Insite, a nearby clinic for heroin users.'

0:30:450:30:49

-You think he will be OK?

-Yeah, he's going to be OK.

0:30:490:30:52

-I mean...

-Later, brother.

0:30:520:30:53

..you've just saved that guy's life.

0:30:530:30:55

Well, group effort and street awareness too.

0:30:550:30:59

You know, most people on the streets know that there's a risk there,

0:30:590:31:02

so they're getting help, right?

0:31:020:31:05

-Getting help.

-I can't believe what just happened.

0:31:050:31:07

Like, it's quite overwhelming, isn't it?

0:31:070:31:10

Yeah, it looks a little different when you actually see it happening.

0:31:100:31:13

-It's not a dry statistic all of a sudden.

-Right.

-Yeah.

0:31:130:31:15

So come on in, let's have a look.

0:31:190:31:20

'Insite was set up to provide a safe place for addicts.

0:31:220:31:25

'Anyone who overdoses here receives instant medical attention.

0:31:250:31:30

'At least users who don't necessarily know what they're taking

0:31:300:31:32

'do know, if it does go wrong, they'll get help.'

0:31:320:31:36

I've got filter, cooker, water... There we go.

0:31:360:31:39

-Then I go to this booth here.

-OK.

0:31:390:31:42

So you come in with the heroin...

0:31:430:31:45

-Yep, we buy it on the streets.

-And then you collect...

0:31:450:31:47

And then we collect the gear...

0:31:470:31:49

'I've come to meet Trevor.

0:31:490:31:50

'He's been using heroin since the '90s.'

0:31:500:31:53

..and we sit down here.

0:31:530:31:54

And we do this here

0:31:540:31:56

because we got nurses and everything here that help us out.

0:31:560:32:00

I can tell you, it's probably the safest place I've been.

0:32:000:32:03

I've dropped, I've overdosed twice.

0:32:030:32:04

Right, like, I've flatlined twice

0:32:040:32:07

and these people have brought me back.

0:32:070:32:09

Talk me through what happened then.

0:32:090:32:10

OK, I come in and...

0:32:100:32:12

I was using... Let me think here.

0:32:120:32:15

No, it was fentanyl.

0:32:150:32:17

-Fentanyl, which is a...

-Tell me that again.

0:32:170:32:20

-Fentanyl...

-Fentanyl, I've heard of this.

0:32:200:32:22

Yes, it's a...morphine-based product,

0:32:220:32:27

and it's very powerful,

0:32:270:32:29

it's like ten times more powerful than morphine.

0:32:290:32:32

I did the hit and as soon as I took the needle out,

0:32:320:32:35

I knew, I knew, it was like, "Uh-oh!"

0:32:350:32:37

And then, I come to and I've got the oxygen mask on

0:32:370:32:41

and they're waking me up.

0:32:410:32:43

'It's 10am and it's time for Trevor's first hit of the day.'

0:32:430:32:46

You've got your heroin. Where's your heroin?

0:32:460:32:48

It's right here. It goes in the cooker like this.

0:32:480:32:50

'Nowadays, he's so worried about what could be in his gear

0:32:500:32:53

'he always injects here at Insite.'

0:32:530:32:55

Fair warning, I'm a jug shooter.

0:32:550:32:58

Most people shoot up in their arms or legs.

0:32:580:33:00

-Does that mean you inject in your neck?

-Yes.

0:33:000:33:02

OK. You've always injected in your neck?

0:33:020:33:04

No, it's just the easiest vein for me to me find now.

0:33:040:33:07

I've worn out my veins.

0:33:070:33:08

Now I just come in here...

0:33:100:33:12

That's it.

0:33:230:33:24

That's that done, yeah?

0:33:240:33:26

That's it.

0:33:260:33:27

They usually ask me if I'm even using dope, I'm so quick sometimes.

0:33:280:33:32

Now, I just wait for it to kick in,

0:33:330:33:36

and there we go.

0:33:360:33:37

Unfortunately, that's what I have to do to get better.

0:33:400:33:43

I describe that as Mum's hug.

0:33:450:33:48

One of the best feelings in the world

0:33:490:33:51

but it's the worst thing to have to do.

0:33:510:33:53

In order for me to be able to function

0:33:540:33:56

or be able walk around during the day,

0:33:560:33:58

I have to have first hit

0:33:580:34:00

or I can't do nothing. I'm a wreck, right?

0:34:000:34:03

Last year, 23 people died in this part of Canada

0:34:040:34:08

after taking heroin laced with the painkiller fentanyl.

0:34:080:34:12

Dealers cut this stronger drug with the heroin

0:34:120:34:14

to give users a quicker and stronger high,

0:34:140:34:17

often with devastating results.

0:34:170:34:20

Let's go up to Onsite.

0:34:200:34:22

-So this is Onsite?

-Yep.

0:34:220:34:24

-Just upstairs from Insite.

-Just upstairs.

0:34:240:34:26

It makes sense to have it called...

0:34:260:34:27

'Upstairs in the rehab unit,

0:34:270:34:29

'I find another addict who's taken fentanyl by accident

0:34:290:34:32

'on many occasions.'

0:34:320:34:34

-I'm Stacey.

-Stacey, I'm Daniel.

0:34:340:34:35

Really nice to meet you.

0:34:350:34:37

I've been dead six times.

0:34:370:34:39

No way, flatlined six times.

0:34:390:34:41

Flatlined, you know, heart stopped six times.

0:34:410:34:43

So, what were you injecting?

0:34:450:34:47

Um, well...my drug of choice has been heroin,

0:34:470:34:51

but...often the heroin isn't heroin.

0:34:510:34:55

You might be getting fentanyl

0:34:550:34:56

or oxycontin with a benzodiazepine mix.

0:34:560:34:59

I'm hearing more and more about this fentanyl.

0:34:590:35:02

Yeah, very, very powerful.

0:35:020:35:04

And, with me, like, I do it,

0:35:040:35:07

I feel that euphoria for about 30 seconds

0:35:070:35:10

and then I wake up in a hospital.

0:35:100:35:13

And..to find out that my heart had been stopped.

0:35:130:35:17

And the sad part is, for me, there's no fear in it

0:35:170:35:19

because I don't know what's going on.

0:35:190:35:21

I'll wake up and everybody else around me is freaked out

0:35:210:35:24

and, like, "Wow, you were blue, you were dead."

0:35:240:35:27

And, I'm like, you know, it's like I just woke up from a sleep.

0:35:270:35:31

DANCE MUSIC PLAYS

0:35:370:35:40

The uncertainty about what could be in street and party drugs

0:35:400:35:44

is starting to change the way people behave.

0:35:440:35:46

I've come Toronto to find out more.

0:35:490:35:52

Oh, hello, it's Stacey.

0:35:520:35:54

-Hello, how are you? I'm Stacey.

-Peter.

0:35:560:35:58

Really lovely to meet you, Peter.

0:35:580:36:00

-Hello, love, how are you?

-Meg.

-I'm Stacey.

0:36:000:36:02

How's it going? I'm Shaun.

0:36:020:36:03

Hi, I can come with you tonight?

0:36:030:36:05

Yes, you sure can.

0:36:050:36:06

Perfect, let me follow you in, thank you.

0:36:060:36:08

You look lovely, I like your shorts.

0:36:080:36:10

Meg, talk me through the feeling of MDMA.

0:36:130:36:16

Well...it's a nice build up.

0:36:160:36:18

It's slow, it's progressive, it works with you.

0:36:180:36:21

Um...

0:36:210:36:22

But what I look for in it is the peak.

0:36:220:36:24

And, like, the peak is so euphoric and it makes you, just, so happy.

0:36:240:36:28

And you never get nervous, you never get frightened?

0:36:280:36:30

Every time before I go to the club, I get nervous...every time.

0:36:300:36:33

But...not about rolling, cos I test my things.

0:36:330:36:37

I'm a firm believer in testing, I know where I get my stuff...

0:36:370:36:41

Talk to me about that, you say you always test your thing.

0:36:410:36:44

-Erm, this is the capsule.

-So that's your MDMA?

-Yeah.

0:36:440:36:47

It comes in brown or white.

0:36:470:36:49

So, what I do is I open the capsule.

0:36:490:36:51

'Meg tests every drug she buys

0:36:510:36:53

'and is convinced this has kept her safe.'

0:36:530:36:55

So, the chemical.

0:36:550:36:57

I like to shake it.

0:36:570:36:58

It comes out purple.

0:36:580:37:00

Oh, it is, yeah, it's purply.

0:37:000:37:02

So, I know, tonight, I'm taking MDMA.

0:37:020:37:04

'In three years of testing her drugs,

0:37:040:37:07

'Meg has found some truly shocking ingredients.'

0:37:070:37:09

I've had everything, like, pretty much on the chart show up before.

0:37:090:37:13

Oh, really?

0:37:130:37:14

I've had methylone, yeah, that's normal.

0:37:140:37:17

Heroin, yes, meth, yes,

0:37:170:37:19

aspirin, sugar, Ritalin.

0:37:190:37:21

That's a perfect example, isn't it?

0:37:210:37:22

Of...how many dodge...drugs are floating about.

0:37:220:37:27

Yeah, you can throw flour in a pill, salt and pepper in a pill.

0:37:270:37:31

-You can throw anything in a pill.

-Wow.

0:37:310:37:34

'Of course, testing is only a guide,

0:37:340:37:36

'but it does seems to me better to have some idea

0:37:360:37:39

'of what you're about to put in your body.'

0:37:390:37:41

The guys are just getting ready.

0:37:420:37:43

But I do find the whole thing utterly fascinating.

0:37:430:37:47

You know, the idea that Meg seems to have really...researched...

0:37:470:37:51

..all of these things.

0:37:520:37:53

And, you know, she's adamant that she's going to take them,

0:37:530:37:56

so she wants to make sure she's as safe as she can be.

0:37:560:37:59

You know, no drug is...100% safe.

0:37:590:38:02

'Meg's confident she knows what she's taking tonight,

0:38:050:38:07

'but I'm going to tag along to see if she's right.

0:38:070:38:09

'In recent years, more than 25 people have died

0:38:110:38:14

'and many more hospitalised in Canada

0:38:140:38:16

'after taking what they believed was MDMA.

0:38:160:38:19

'After a hard day at work and long nights dancing ahead,

0:38:220:38:25

'Meg decides it's time to drop her pre-tested pill.'

0:38:250:38:28

You've taken it? Yeah?

0:38:370:38:39

So Meg's just dropped her pill.

0:38:460:38:48

She said to me she feels really confident,

0:38:480:38:52

she feels completely calm,

0:38:520:38:54

she's up for it

0:38:540:38:56

and her fella Shaun said

0:38:560:38:57

that it normally takes her about half an hour

0:38:570:39:00

to really come up,

0:39:000:39:02

so you'll really see a different side to her.

0:39:020:39:04

But already I can see she's got the bottle,

0:39:040:39:07

a cold bottle of booze,

0:39:070:39:09

and she's putting it all over her body cos she's so hot.

0:39:090:39:11

She's saying "I'm hot, I'm hot."

0:39:110:39:13

Quite full-on.

0:39:150:39:16

'Over the next four hours,

0:39:200:39:22

'I watch Meg dance and party nonstop.

0:39:220:39:25

'It seems like this time her pill is safe.'

0:39:250:39:27

So, Meg, how are you feeling?

0:39:310:39:33

-Really good, I'm really happy right now.

-Yeah?

0:39:330:39:35

Yeah, I'm feeling good.

0:39:350:39:36

Talk me through what's going on inside your mind.

0:39:360:39:38

Nothing, I'm here with you, it's just...I'm happy.

0:39:380:39:41

And I want to dance and I have energy.

0:39:410:39:43

I don't feel like I worked all day

0:39:430:39:44

or that I was drained when I got here.

0:39:440:39:46

Yeah? So you're having a brilliant night?

0:39:460:39:49

Oh, yeah, of course.

0:39:490:39:50

OK, and what time will you go on till tonight?

0:39:500:39:52

-What time is it now?

-Nearly two.

0:39:520:39:55

Er...probably four, when the club closes,

0:39:550:39:57

and then I'll probably just go home,

0:39:570:39:59

walk the dogs, wind down...

0:39:590:40:01

..and carry on with life.

0:40:020:40:03

'Meg does appear fine and continues to party until the early hours.

0:40:070:40:11

'The law enforcement here is also changing its approach.

0:40:180:40:21

'Now they go out to try and actively disrupt the drug dealers.

0:40:210:40:25

'The police's gang unit have adopted a zero tolerance approach

0:40:270:40:30

'to anyone connected with the city's drug trade.

0:40:300:40:33

'I've been invited to spend a night on the front line.'

0:40:340:40:37

-Every officer will have one of these?

-Yeah.

0:40:380:40:40

HE COCKS GUN

0:40:400:40:43

But they're necessary when you're dealing with people

0:40:430:40:45

affiliated with gangs?

0:40:450:40:46

-They can be.

-And I guess they're all armed?

0:40:460:40:48

Yeah, many of them are. SIREN RINGS

0:40:480:40:50

We're going to... one of our units has stopped a vehicle

0:40:500:40:54

and they have a guy who's armed and dangerous.

0:40:540:40:57

So, right now, the guys have got an alert on their laptop,

0:41:000:41:02

telling them that one of their officers

0:41:020:41:04

has pulled a vehicle to one side

0:41:040:41:06

and the guy inside that car has been known in the past

0:41:060:41:09

to be armed and dangerous, is that right?

0:41:090:41:11

To carry guns or other dangerous weapons.

0:41:110:41:13

Right, so we're just heading there now.

0:41:130:41:15

'The police check all car licence plates.

0:41:170:41:19

'Any owned by guys with links to the drugs gangs are pulled over.'

0:41:190:41:23

They're searching the vehicle for drugs and guns.

0:41:230:41:26

A lot of these vehicles will have hidden compartments put into them.

0:41:260:41:29

They'll have a switch in the dashboard somewhere

0:41:290:41:31

where you click it or turn the turn signal twice

0:41:310:41:33

and this thing'll pop open

0:41:330:41:34

-and then you'll be a loaded handgun there.

-Really?

0:41:340:41:36

Oh, yeah, yeah, it's very common.

0:41:360:41:38

'Fed up with the violence based around the drug business,

0:41:400:41:43

'the public have forced the police to take the war on drugs

0:41:430:41:46

'right back to the gangs.'

0:41:460:41:48

A lot of the citizens were saying,

0:41:480:41:49

"Look, we can't go downtown and have a good time.

0:41:490:41:51

"We can't go to a restaurant and have a meal

0:41:510:41:53

"without having possibly armed gangsters having meals beside us."

0:41:530:41:57

And so that's what the public were calling, er,

0:41:570:41:59

and that's what the enforcement team here does.

0:41:590:42:01

Is to make sure that it's uncomfortable

0:42:010:42:02

for gangsters to come down here.

0:42:020:42:04

'Back on the road

0:42:070:42:08

'and it's only minutes before

0:42:080:42:09

'another suspected gang member is pulled over.'

0:42:090:42:11

My understanding is that they did a quick check on this car,

0:42:160:42:20

they were following the car, and then the car darted off

0:42:200:42:22

and it looked like he was trying to lose the police.

0:42:220:42:24

So they've brought him back round

0:42:240:42:26

and he's said "Oh, no, I was just picking a pal up."

0:42:260:42:28

So they're just trying to figure things out now.

0:42:280:42:31

'The driver says he's just picked up some takeaway food.'

0:42:310:42:34

My partner here wants to talk to you for a second.

0:42:340:42:37

'But he's on the on the police database

0:42:370:42:38

'and that's enough for his car to be searched.'

0:42:380:42:41

It's starting to become apparent

0:42:410:42:42

that this isn't as clear cut as they first thought.

0:42:420:42:45

So, the guy that was driving...

0:42:450:42:47

They've just found a knife in the car.

0:42:480:42:50

The guy that was driving, they recognised him,

0:42:500:42:53

he said, like, five years ago, he was a nightmare,

0:42:530:42:55

he said he was a massive shithead, whatever that means.

0:42:550:42:57

I don't know if he was, like, deep into the gangs.

0:42:570:43:00

And the passenger, there was a knife found on his side,

0:43:000:43:03

But we'll know more when the officers...

0:43:030:43:06

have finished searching the vehicle and chatting to the guys.

0:43:060:43:09

'All cars are searched for drugs and weapons.

0:43:120:43:15

'They find a box of ammo.

0:43:160:43:19

'It turns out the driver does have a licence to carry a gun,

0:43:190:43:22

'but everyone with a record is treated with suspicion.'

0:43:220:43:24

-These are legal?

-Oh, yeah, they're legal.

0:43:260:43:28

These are legal, right?

0:43:280:43:30

Why do you feel like you need to carry them?

0:43:310:43:33

Just in case you need one,

0:43:370:43:39

you've got a handcuff key here in the trunk.

0:43:390:43:42

I have no idea...

0:43:420:43:44

That's not illegal either...

0:43:440:43:46

-It's just odd, it's just odd...

-Yeah, it is really odd.

0:43:460:43:49

It is really odd.

0:43:490:43:50

You're saying you were a nightmare five years ago,

0:43:500:43:52

-but now you've completely changed your life?

-Yeah.

0:43:520:43:54

-You're legitimate?

-Yeah.

0:43:540:43:56

I always was, I was just hanging around with the wrong crowd.

0:43:560:43:59

Yeah? What, like the drug dealers round here?

0:43:590:44:02

Just people that are idiots,

0:44:030:44:05

people who like to get in trouble, fight, think that they're tough.

0:44:050:44:08

Yeah. Have you been to prison?

0:44:080:44:09

Er...I've been to jail.

0:44:090:44:12

Yeah?

0:44:120:44:13

-How many times?

-Once.

0:44:130:44:16

'No illegal weapons or drugs were found in their car.

0:44:160:44:19

'The men were free to go on their way.'

0:44:190:44:22

-Yeah. Thanks for not shooting.

-Bye.

0:44:220:44:24

I still want to understand

0:44:330:44:34

why Canada has become this massive drugs producer.

0:44:340:44:37

The whole population of this vast country

0:44:370:44:40

is just over half that of the UK.

0:44:400:44:42

So, we're making our way to an unmanned part of the border.

0:44:430:44:47

Zero Avenue.

0:44:480:44:50

It goes all the way up from there and it ends at Zero Avenue.

0:44:500:44:53

'Before I leave, I meet up again with local journalist Mike Hager.'

0:44:540:44:58

This is definitely it?

0:45:020:45:03

This is it - America, Canada.

0:45:030:45:05

Stop it.

0:45:050:45:07

So that road, this road.

0:45:080:45:09

So we're in Canada, Canada, Canada, Canada, Canada...

0:45:090:45:13

The States?

0:45:130:45:14

America, yeah, that's right.

0:45:140:45:16

This is insane.

0:45:160:45:17

I have literally, I have been so many borders all around the world

0:45:170:45:20

and I've never ever...experienced anything quite like this.

0:45:200:45:24

5,000 plus kilometres that way to the Atlantic Ocean.

0:45:280:45:32

There's a lot of rugged terrain, totally unmanned.

0:45:320:45:35

This is a smugglers' paradise.

0:45:370:45:39

'The ecstasy, or molly, trade

0:45:390:45:41

'is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

0:45:410:45:44

'And for this business to flourish,

0:45:440:45:45

'the cooks and the dealers need access to the biggest market,

0:45:450:45:49

'and it's right here on their doorstep.'

0:45:490:45:51

Well, cops on this side have told us

0:45:510:45:53

that two SUVs can pull up,

0:45:530:45:56

one on the Canadian side, one on the American side

0:45:560:45:58

and someone can jump out into another vehicle

0:45:580:46:02

or they can toss a bag

0:46:020:46:03

and then they're off.

0:46:030:46:05

You know, by the time they've hit the highway on either side,

0:46:050:46:07

very difficult for law enforcement to catch them.

0:46:070:46:10

How much of the MDMA that's being produced here in Canada

0:46:100:46:13

is ending up in the States?

0:46:130:46:15

Well, we've been told from people on both sides of the industry

0:46:150:46:19

that about 90% goes down to the American market.

0:46:190:46:22

There's 300 million people versus Canada's just 30 million.

0:46:220:46:26

Such a huge appetite down there.

0:46:260:46:28

Supply and demand, you know? First rule of economics.

0:46:280:46:31

AEROPLANE ENGINE ROARS

0:46:310:46:34

For the final leg of my journey,

0:46:340:46:36

I've come to America, and Atlanta.

0:46:360:46:38

Molly is now a big deal here.

0:46:410:46:43

Doctors have seen the number of cases involving the drug

0:46:450:46:48

soar by 50% in the past two years.

0:46:480:46:51

In one bust alone, police here seized molly

0:46:520:46:55

with a street value 3 million.

0:46:550:46:58

# I'm fresh up out the railway Been a long day...#

0:47:010:47:04

I've come to meet one of Atlanta's leading rappers, Reese.

0:47:040:47:08

# Stressin' about this money That's a long day

0:47:080:47:10

# I turned up at your function... #

0:47:100:47:13

# Pull up to the club, VIP, that's where you find me...#

0:47:130:47:16

Nice, I like it.

0:47:160:47:18

-Thank you.

-I like it.

0:47:180:47:20

Want me to do another one? One more?

0:47:200:47:22

He released this track, titled Molly, in 2012.

0:47:230:47:27

I made it because, at the time,

0:47:270:47:31

molly was getting very big in the streets of Atlanta.

0:47:310:47:35

A lot of people were talking about it.

0:47:350:47:37

So I was like, "Hey, we should make a song

0:47:370:47:39

"that's kind of like an anthem for the molly takers."

0:47:390:47:42

# I been working all day

0:47:420:47:44

# Posted in the trap I been trapping all day...#

0:47:440:47:47

Molly's everywhere.

0:47:470:47:48

It's in the suburbs, in the hood,

0:47:480:47:51

in...school, it's everywhere.

0:47:510:47:54

Everybody takes molly.

0:47:540:47:55

I find it so interesting

0:47:550:47:56

how, like, the younger crowd, the younger generation

0:47:560:47:59

are just so influenced by, you know,

0:47:590:48:01

what their favourite rappers are rapping about, like, so much so,

0:48:010:48:04

like, you know, Jay-Z was rapping about molly

0:48:040:48:08

and then the whole crowd were like taking molly straight away,

0:48:080:48:11

even when they hadn't heard of it.

0:48:110:48:12

If you're an influential person and you talking about molly,

0:48:120:48:15

everybody's going be like, "Man, this is a cool guy."

0:48:150:48:18

Goes from one person to another and then it just affects the world.

0:48:180:48:22

-Yeah, it's nuts.

-It's like a virus.

0:48:220:48:24

'These guys may rap about molly,

0:48:250:48:27

'but they're a lot less keen in actually taking it.'

0:48:270:48:29

And you boys, you take molly?

0:48:310:48:33

I don't, I have before...

0:48:330:48:35

I'm cool on it, and then I said, "Nope..."

0:48:350:48:38

-Come downs aren't worth it?

-Uh-uh, I'm straight.

0:48:380:48:41

# Party... #

0:48:430:48:45

It seems almost everyone I meet

0:48:450:48:47

has had some bad experiences with this drug.

0:48:470:48:50

It kind of scared me.

0:48:500:48:51

You know, a lot of the side effects people don't talk about.

0:48:510:48:54

Cos, you know, people will say, like, molly's a sexual drug.

0:48:540:48:57

Yeah, the party drug, the love drug.

0:48:570:48:59

But, honestly, like, molly's going give you a soft dick,

0:48:590:49:02

you're going to have the lockjaw so you have some gum

0:49:020:49:04

cos you're going to fucking grind your teeth.

0:49:040:49:06

You're going do all kind of weird shit...

0:49:060:49:08

Molly be making some people fucking shoot people, kill folks.

0:49:080:49:13

I know a couple of dudes who drop a molly

0:49:130:49:15

and they'd be having pistols

0:49:150:49:16

and they'd be like "Bro..." offering to shoot somebody.

0:49:160:49:18

'Here, in Atlanta,

0:49:220:49:23

'molly is becoming as popular as crack and methamphetamine.

0:49:230:49:26

'I want to meet those at the heart of this business, the dealers.

0:49:270:49:31

'Tracking down guys like this anywhere is tough,

0:49:320:49:35

'but I've been the told the men I'm about to see

0:49:350:49:37

'are serious players.'

0:49:370:49:38

They've agreed to talk to me on the understanding that

0:49:390:49:42

we don't show their identity and we don't reveal their location

0:49:420:49:45

so the camera's got to go off now.

0:49:450:49:47

So, we're about five minutes away, right?

0:49:480:49:50

-Wow, look at you three.

-Hey, how you doing?

0:49:510:49:54

Nice to meet you. How's things?

0:49:540:49:56

Thank you so much for allowing me to come to your...trap house?

0:49:560:50:00

Is that where we are?

0:50:000:50:01

Yeah this is a... Trap, trap, trap...

0:50:010:50:03

Trap, trap, trap? What's a trap house? Tell me.

0:50:030:50:05

Trap house is just like,

0:50:050:50:07

you know what I'm saying, your neighbourhood pharmacy.

0:50:070:50:09

That's what a trap house is.

0:50:090:50:11

So tell me what your job is, what do you deal with?

0:50:110:50:14

My job is to supply the users with any drug they want

0:50:140:50:19

because this is a one-stop shop.

0:50:190:50:21

And what do people want the most?

0:50:210:50:22

They want their molly, man. That's what they want the most.

0:50:220:50:25

-Molly, yeah?

-Yeah.

0:50:250:50:27

Why is molly so popular here? Tell me.

0:50:270:50:29

In my opinion, molly is so popular because...

0:50:290:50:34

they looking for molly for, basically, you know, it's like

0:50:340:50:37

a party thing and...

0:50:370:50:40

you know what I'm saying, it's the sex drug,

0:50:400:50:43

you know, you can take it in pill form.

0:50:430:50:46

So, can I, I'm sorry to interrupt, can I ask you?

0:50:460:50:50

So this is pretty standard, right?

0:50:500:50:52

-This is one of your customers?

-Yeah.

0:50:520:50:54

-Hello.

-Hey.

0:50:550:50:57

-How are you?

-I'm doing fine.

0:50:570:51:00

What have you come for today?

0:51:000:51:02

Some gas.

0:51:020:51:03

What's gas?

0:51:030:51:05

This right here, weed.

0:51:050:51:08

Just weed, yeah, to smoke?

0:51:080:51:09

-It ain't just weed.

-It's high-grade weed.

0:51:090:51:13

-It's high grade?

-High grade.

-High grade.

0:51:130:51:15

'The dealers told me they've been selling everything

0:51:150:51:18

'from crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis for more than a decade.

0:51:180:51:22

'But the demand for molly has really taken off in the past two years.'

0:51:220:51:26

So, how much money do you make off of molly, would you say, a week?

0:51:260:51:29

We're talking seven, ten.

0:51:290:51:31

-Seven to ten...thousand?

-Mm-hm.

0:51:310:51:34

'And then one of the dealers, to show me the gear was good,

0:51:360:51:39

'took a large amount of powdered molly.'

0:51:390:51:41

-Wow.

-He has to taste it, yeah?

0:51:440:51:47

'Like so people involved in the drug business,

0:51:470:51:50

'dealers like these guys often rely on the threat of violence

0:51:500:51:53

'to protect their business.'

0:51:530:51:55

-And what, this is yours, is it? This is your gun?

-Mm-hm.

0:51:550:51:58

And that's yours, yeah?

0:51:580:52:00

Where do you get your guns from?

0:52:000:52:01

-Off the streets, man.

-Off the streets, yeah?

0:52:010:52:04

How many times have you had to use this gun?

0:52:040:52:07

See this right here?

0:52:070:52:08

-So that's recent, is it?

-Yeah.

0:52:100:52:12

-Who did you shoot at?

-Somebody.

0:52:120:52:15

-What did they do?

-Money, family, anything.

0:52:150:52:18

-But this particular situation.

-This situation right here was money.

0:52:180:52:21

-Money? He owed you money?

-Mm-hm.

0:52:210:52:24

-How much?

-A thousand.

0:52:240:52:26

A thousand, yeah?

0:52:260:52:28

-Where did you shoot him?

-In the leg.

0:52:280:52:30

-And did he live?

-Yeah, he lived.

0:52:300:52:32

Murder would bring a lot of heat, you see what I'm saying?

0:52:320:52:36

That's not good for business.

0:52:360:52:38

'The drug was clearly beginning to take effect.'

0:52:380:52:41

You having a little dance?

0:52:410:52:42

Yeah, have a little tune in my head.

0:52:420:52:44

Yeah?

0:52:440:52:46

HE RAPS

0:52:460:52:49

I'm good.

0:52:510:52:52

'And then two young girls who were no more than 18 or 19

0:52:550:52:58

'who had watched all of our filming

0:52:580:53:00

'wanted to join in the party.

0:53:000:53:02

'After witnessing drug taking and with two loaded guns on the side,

0:53:040:53:08

'this seemed like a good time to leave.'

0:53:080:53:10

Yeah, now, that was quite full-on. Erm...

0:53:130:53:15

I think, probably, the main thing I took

0:53:170:53:19

from having a chat from those lads

0:53:190:53:21

was the idea that molly seems to have flooded into America now.

0:53:210:53:26

You know, it does seems to be everywhere.

0:53:260:53:28

And initially, I always associated it with being on the party scene,

0:53:280:53:32

you know, it was a party drug.

0:53:320:53:33

But they're saying it's very much a street drug now.

0:53:330:53:35

And like every other street drug,

0:53:350:53:37

the guys who are in charge are serious guys.

0:53:370:53:40

You know, they're not mucking around.

0:53:400:53:42

'Atlanta is a city troubled by guns, gangs and violence,

0:53:460:53:50

'and much of this crime has its roots in the drug business,

0:53:500:53:52

'and increasingly, that means molly.

0:53:520:53:55

'Just a few miles away from the trap house,

0:53:560:53:59

'I come across a scene only too familiar.'

0:53:590:54:02

We've just driven past.

0:54:040:54:06

And there's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight police cars.

0:54:060:54:09

I've had a chat with one of the officers,

0:54:090:54:11

he said someone's been shot.

0:54:110:54:13

I want to have a chat with a couple of the people floating about

0:54:130:54:15

and see if it's drug-related.

0:54:150:54:17

Hi.

0:54:200:54:21

We just wondered if there were any eye witnesses

0:54:210:54:23

that might like to talk.

0:54:230:54:24

-Might be up there.

-Up that way? OK, thank you.

0:54:240:54:28

'This is the Bluff,

0:54:290:54:30

'one of Atlanta's poorest neighbourhoods.

0:54:300:54:33

'Police are a regular sight here.

0:54:330:54:35

'I wanted to know if anyone had seen or heard anything.'

0:54:350:54:38

-So two guys were arguing...

-Yeah.

0:54:460:54:48

-And he went back into that house...

-And got his pistol.

-..got his gun

0:54:480:54:51

-and shot the other guy three times?

-Three times.

0:54:510:54:54

-And you saw this?

-Yeah.

-Wow.

0:54:540:54:56

-So the guy is in hospital now?

-No, he's dead.

0:54:560:54:58

-He's dead?

-Yeah, he died.

0:54:580:54:59

-Did you know him?

-Yeah, I knew him.

0:55:020:55:04

I've known him since he was a baby.

0:55:040:55:05

Speaking to the eyewitness, the guy who lives here,

0:55:110:55:14

he said that, you know, it's very normal,

0:55:140:55:17

it's very usual for kids who sell dope to be carrying pistols.

0:55:170:55:22

They were his exact words.

0:55:220:55:25

They don't even hide them, you know, they openly carry them.

0:55:250:55:28

They're not scared of anyone, they have no fear.

0:55:280:55:30

Our eyewitness, you know, he knows the boy's father.

0:55:300:55:35

Um...

0:55:350:55:36

But he said he hears gunshots every single night of the week.

0:55:360:55:39

You know, it's not uncommon.

0:55:390:55:41

It's not clear if this shooting is connected to the molly trade,

0:55:480:55:51

but one thing is obvious,

0:55:510:55:53

in places like this, ecstasy has joined meth and crack

0:55:530:55:57

as a street drug controlled by violent gangs.

0:55:570:56:00

When I began this film,

0:56:020:56:03

I thought MDMA was one of the less dangerous party drugs.

0:56:030:56:07

But this is a drug that's changing.

0:56:070:56:09

The cooks making molly are replacing MDMA

0:56:090:56:12

with a whole range of chemicals,

0:56:120:56:14

some of which can have devastating effects.

0:56:140:56:17

The authorities may have slowed down

0:56:180:56:20

the trade in safrole oil from Cambodia,

0:56:200:56:23

but the alternatives could be even worse.

0:56:230:56:26

'Next time, I travel to Africa.'

0:56:310:56:33

This is Johannesburg.

0:56:330:56:35

Everyone's got a gun expect me...

0:56:350:56:37

and we're door-stepping drug dealers.

0:56:370:56:39

'I find out about a new potent strain of skunk.'

0:56:390:56:42

This smells so strong.

0:56:420:56:45

'And I discover a highly addictive new cannabis mix.'

0:56:450:56:49

I smoke until I die.

0:56:490:56:51

I get crazy if I don't get this thing.

0:56:510:56:53

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