DRUG dealer Colin Easton is behind bars today after being convicted for peddling ecstasy tablets.Today those who are left to deal with the tragic legacy drugs can leave in their wake warned of the lethal danger ecstasy can pose.

By Amanda Cresswell

DRUG dealer Colin Easton is behind bars today after being convicted for peddling ecstasy tablets.

Today those who are left to deal with the tragic legacy drugs can leave in their wake warned of the lethal danger ecstasy can pose.

Detective Inspector Neville Farthing of Ipswich CID, said: "Anyone who buys ecstasy drugs potentially runs the risk of being another Leah Betts – the Essex teenager who hit national headlines after she died from taking ecstasy.

"Ecstasy is seen by some as the recreational drug but can on lead to more serious drug habits and then people are hooked and on a slippery slope. These recreational and social drugs are in as many ways just as serious as heroin and cocaine.

"The young and the vulnerable are being targeted by dealers whose sole purpose is to make money."

Suffolk coroner Dr Peter Dean, said he would not comment on ant specific case. However he did talk in general terms about the dangers.

"There are extreme hazards with experimenting with any drugs especially a thing like ecstasy.

"People are playing Russian roulette with their lives." He added people don't know whether their next ecstasy tablet will kill them.

"We have certainly had cases that are tragic in the outcome and people have died as a result. We see the distress of families when they lose someone to drugs. It is awful for families to lose someone."

Carey Godfrey, Suffolk Drug Action Team Co-ordinator, said: "Police and customs officers are very successful in apprehending drug dealers. However, we can't be complacent.

"The recent Mixmag survey, a magazine which focuses on clubs, showed that 97 per cent of clubbers surveyed have tried both ecstasy and cannabis at least once.

"It does appear from the survey that ecstasy use has declined although the prices have dropped.

"Also new research is showing a link between ecstasy and mental health problems.

"The death rate has also increased from 17 in 1999 to 27 in 2000, an increase of 65 percent."

He added to tackle this problem there must be a partnership approach to curtail the dealers and reduce the demand by making young people aware of the risk.

Easton was jailed for three and a half year jail sentence at Ipswich Crown Court.

The 34-year-old admitted two offences of possessing the tablet with intent to supply, had been a regular heavy user of ecstasy for three to four years. He told police he used up to 70 tablets a week.

Easton, a locksmith, of Cemetery Road, Ipswich, was rumbled by vigilant door staff at the town's Kartouche nightclub.

When they approached him Easton threw away a bag containing 34 ecstasy tablets.

Police later searched his home and found a further 30 tablets from the same batch and a metal tin containing 293 tablets in a car parked near Easton's house.

Georgie Smith, one of the managers of Kartouche, said: "In any club there is zero drug tolerance."

Jessica Smith, general manager of Brannigans, said: "This is the reason why the searches are done. When I came to Ipswich it hit me how vigilant the door staff in the town are. It is great that all their hard work paid off and in turn led to a drug dealer being jailed."