The last in a three-part series:
Part two examined how Israeli drug cartels recruit and train of couriers of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) — popularly known as “Ecstasy.”
This final part looks at the global outlook for this illegal trade.
In a recent report by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), investigators discovered that MDMA couriers operated by Israeli and Russian drug cartels are usually paid $1 for every pill smuggled. On average, couriers carry at least 10,000 pills on each trip, with the pills most often concealed in false-bottomed, soft-sided, carry-on luggage. Couriers generally know very little about the people from whom they receive the pills in Europe or the people to whom they deliver the pills in the United States.
After the courier arrives in a hub distribution city, Israeli drug shippers sometimes direct the courier to a safe house rented by the smuggling organization. There, an organization member contacts the courier and either takes possession of the pills or directs the courier to another city. Eventually, the courier turns the pills over to the wholesale group, which delivers the pills to regular midlevel wholesale customers in the hub city and in other cities around the United States.
Recent reports estimate that Israeli drug cartels smuggle over 2 million tablets into the US each week. Current estimates suggest that within the Newark, New York and the New Jersey Shore area, over 750,000 Ecstasy pills are consumed each week.
According to the DEA, Israeli drug trafficking groups often exploit Belgium’s role as a major center in the international diamond trade. These traffickers often take advantage of their ethnic connections within the diamond-trading community in an effort to avoid detection by law enforcement officials. The connections to the diamond industry also provide Israeli traffickers with a well-established infrastructure in which to operate. In addition, custom-made luggage designed for transporting diamonds is readily available in Antwerp. This luggage is well-suited for use by drug traffickers smuggling Ecstasy.
DEA sources say Israeli traffickers generally are young, well-educated, and multilingual, often with Hebrew/Yiddish, English, and Russian language ability. The groups are highly adaptable and mobile, maintaining contacts throughout Europe and internationally. They use a variety of technologies for communication purposes.
While MDMA abuse currently is not as widespread as that of many other drugs, it nonetheless increased significantly — 500 percent — over a five-year period.
The future prospects for the Israeli Ecstasy trade, according to the DEA, are upbeat — which is bad news for the law enforcement officials: “Given the increasingly global demand for the drug and the high profit potential derived from its sale, production will likely expand to other areas in the future. Despite concerted efforts by European legislators and law enforcement officials, as well as their counterparts around the world, Ecstasy will likely remain one of the principal drugs of demand in Europe and internationally.”
Send questions and comments to: [email protected]