Thursday, March 16, 2000 Older Editions

Zero Ecstasy tolerance

By Neil Fater

The network of informants cultivated by Andover police's zero-tolerance drug unit is beginning to pay dividends.

Acting on a tip, Andover police arrested a 26-year-old Lawrence man and confiscated about 100 tablets of Ecstasy, with a street value of $3,000, at an Andover hotel last Wednesday, March 8.

Police arrested Keith J. Audy, 26, of 15 Katherine St., Lawrence, and charged him with trafficking a Class B substance (Ecstasy), driving with a suspended license, being a disorderly person and resisting arrest.

Audy allegedly told police that he was trying to exchange the drugs for cash in the Andover Tage Inn parking lot as a favor for someone. He would not reveal who he was assisting, say police.

"We wanted to talk to him about whether he could help us, and he said, 'No,'" says Officer Michael Lane.

But Lane and Detective Jim Haggerty, of Andover's drug unit, say they will need to rely on informants as they seek to arrest Ecstasy peddlers and users. Unlike marijuana users, users of the nightclub drug Ecstasy can be difficult to catch since they can so easily hide the tablet. Many may not even have the drug on them once they leave their homes.

"It's hard to catch anybody with it, because they take it before they go out. They're all screwed up, but you don't know why. There's no alcohol on their breath," says Lane.

A user is unlikely to have more than one pill on them, and can quickly swallow that to get rid of the evidence, say police.

"Even if you suspect something's going on, you're not going to find (the drug) on them," says Detective Jim Haggerty. "It's good for six hours."

That's one reason why information will be important for police. Andover police believe they can develop enough good information about drug sales to arrest Ecstasy sellers. They have already made six Ecstasy arrests this year, of people aged 17 to 26.

"It's one of those situations where, if you're lucky enough to arrest somebody, it can lead to the next phase," says Haggerty. "That's why we have this unit together."

Lane says he believes Ecstasy use in Andover is a relatively new occurrence.

"We don't think it's a big, prevalent thing here," says Lt. Arthur Ricci, but he adds, "Ecstasy's all over the place."

The Ecstasy pills taken from Audy's vehicle in Andover's Tage Inn parking lot March 8 were round with a squatting man or Buddha on them, say police. But Ecstasy tablets come in several shapes and colors, and with an amazing variety of designs on them -- from a yin-yang symbol to business logos.

During a four-month period last year, the state drug lab found 75 different logos on pills confiscated during just 200 busts.

Throughout the country, Ecstasy is known by many names including "disco biscuit," but around here is typically called just Ecstasy or "E," say police. The U.S. Department of Justice classifies Ecstasy as a stimulant with "a high potential for abuse with no legitimate medical use."