Police say a lucrative trade in the illegal drug ecstasy is behind a violent turf war in after-hour clubs in downtown Toronto.
Two street gangs, working with organized-crime groups suspected of importing the drug from Europe, are competing for the Toronto market for chemical drugs, investigators said yesterday.
"Organized crime is heavily involved in the supply of chemical drugs. It wants a piece of the market and that's when the violence occurs. You have territorial drug wars," said Detective Randy Smith of the Toronto drug squad.
One ecstasy pill sells for $4 in Europe, but between $25 and $35 in Toronto, he said.
More than a third of all drug seizures by customs officials last year in Canada occurred in Toronto, at Pearson Airport and from marine and truck commercial carriers.
On one weekend in January, custom officials at Pearson seized twice the amount of ecstasy, over 30,000 pills, as was seized last year at the airport.
Det. Colin McDonald, who is in charge of combatting street crime in 52 Division, said that protecting the places where the drugs are sold, including after-hours clubs, is a gang priority.
His downtown territory includes the area around Yonge and Isabella Streets, where two murders and a number of other shootings have occurred at after-hours clubs in recent weeks.
At the Spin Cat club, a bouncer was shot in the head and killed March 4 after two men refused to leave. The Web, less than two blocks away, was the scene of a fatal shooting on Feb. 14.
Although it is not clear that the murders were drug-related, Det. McDonald said that the turf war has escalated in the last four months. "We're seeing a higher incidence of drug dealers ripping off drug dealers. . . . There is no doubt it is an extremely lucrative business to be trafficking drugs in after-hour clubs and raves," he said.
He said the groups use intimidation and violence to protect their turf, spreading fear among residents. On two nights in late February, officers from 52 Division launched a blitz in the area to reassure them. On Feb. 25, they arrested 12 people in a two-block area for drug trafficking and possession of drugs, including ecstasy.
Det. Smith said old-style mobsters are mingling with street gangs, motorcycle gangs and other criminal groups in the drug trade. "There is no ethnic loyalty any more. Money is the only loyalty."
Ecstasy, also known as MDMA, is made in Holland, shipped to France and flown to Toronto, according to customs officials.
The idea that it is relatively safe is mistaken, Det. Smith said. Nine people died from ecstasy use last year in Ontario, he said.