COPS IN ECSTASY

Mounties On Fraud Sting Discover A Drug Factory

A fraud investigation at a North York business took a dramatic turn
yesterday when Mounties stumbled on an elaborate Ecstasy lab and three men
wanted on immigration matters.

RCMP officers found hundreds of Ecstasy capsules and containers of
dangerous chemicals during a raid at the Kenhar Dr. office, near Weston Rd.
and Steeles Ave., around 8 a.m.

The volatile chemicals prompted a massive response from the Toronto Fire
Department hazardous material unit, which sealed off the industrial area
and ordered workers to stay indoors.

"This is a large operation," said RCMP Corp. Brent Hill, a chemical drug
lab specialist. "The chemicals we're dealing with are highly toxic, they're
carcinogenic, flammable and explosive.

"These people are not accomplished chemists. They're crooks," he said.
"They follow recipes and things can go wrong when you're doing things of
that nature."

SEALED OFF

The street was sealed off for several hours as police and firefighters in
protective gear scoured the lab. Crews were expected to remain on scene
overnight and a Hamilton disposal company has been called in to dismantle
the lab.

RCMP Const. Howard Adams said police were initially conducting a fraud
investigation that centred around North Star Systems Ltd., a construction
tool company that leases units 24 and 25 in the nondescript industrial
building.

He said officers with the force's commercial crimes section were executing
a search warrant "when they entered the building (and) found things they
did not expect to find."

Counterfeit

RCMP Const. Mike Cote said the investigation focused on counterfeit credit
cards, but refused to elaborate as other search warrants are being executed.

Police arrested three men located in the business. One man, Tibor Sinko,
28, was wanted on an extradition warrant filed by Hungarian and Austrian
officials, Cote said, adding the charges in those countries relate to
fraud. He is expected to appear in North York court today for a bail hearing.

Two other men were also arrested and immediately turned over to Immigration
Canada, Adams said. Their names and arrest details were not available.

Officers found about 300 Ecstasy capsules and enough chemicals to "make a
significant number of pills," Adams said.

The popular rave drug can be made for "pennies" a pill and sell for up to
$25, "so profit margins are very high," Adams said.