Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Cambodia to destroy all 'ecstasy oil' stocks

By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Cambodia is cracking down on a raw ingredient for the club-drug ecstasy by wiping out stocks of an oil made from the roots of a rare rainforest tree, an official said on Thursday.
Cambodian authorities, with help from Australian police, will destroy 14 tonnes of sassafras, an ingredient for cosmetics but also a precursor chemical to make methylenedioxymethamphetamine, more commonly known "MDMA" or the party drug ecstasy.
The amount represents all known stocks of sassafras oil in Cambodia and will be the second-largest volume destroyed since the authorities made the oil illegal in 2007, said Cambodia Police Major General Meas Vyrith.

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