Inside the lucrative world of ecstasy smuggling


Madeleine Scinto, a reporter for the New York Post, wrote a story about a 4-million-dollar ecstasy operation in the North East.

She wore blue eyeshadow, an oversized sweatshirt and Birkenstocks, still looking like the smart undergrad who just two years earlier took a math degree at one of the best colleges in the country. MDMA, the main ingredient in ecstasy, and thousands of dollars of cash were stashed in a cloth backpack hanging over her shoulder.

Ragan was slinging merchandise for one of the biggest MDMA-dealing rings in the Northeast, grossing up to $45,000 a month for a couple of hours worth of work a day. Together she and her bosses, Chad, a floppy-haired rich kid from Texas who worked as a distributor, and Nick, the “connect” to British Columbia, run a $4 million-a-year operation.

Inside the lucrative world of ecstasy smuggling

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