Australian paper The Daily Telegraph is reporting that ecstasy is being flooded into Australia from Dutch and Chinese organized crime gangs.

From the Daily Telegraph:

THE Italian Mafia has joined forces with Dutch and Chinese criminals to flood Australia with ecstasy in a re-emergence of a crime network not seen here since the 1980s.

Dutch authorities have warned Australian counterparts that shipping containers with tonnes of concealed ecstasy pills were being sent to Australian ports, with the nation now topping the world’s market-demand for the drug.

The Netherlands-based elite Synthetic Drugs Unit, which co-ordinates the international fight against illicit substances, said criminals had formed multinational alliances to service the high-demand, high-returns being offered in Australia.

The market is so big, the Dutch have closed their anti-drugs bureau in Miami in the US and instead, just three weeks ago, permanently stationed a top police officer in Canberra to liaise directly with the Australian Federal Police.

The United States Department of State has previously mentioned that Australia is one of the largest consumers of ecstasy.

Ecstasy is a $16 billion market worldwide.