Secrets of $12m drug dealer

The Dealer who flooded Auckland with Ecstasy says that prison is 'the tax I have to pay'. Photo / Supplied

A central figure in an alleged multi-million drug ring run from London has told the Weekend Herald how he helped to sell hundreds of thousands of Ecstasy pills in Auckland.

The man, who can be identified only as the Dealer, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of possession of MDMA - the class-B drug known as Ecstasy - for supply in front of Judge Thomas Everitt in the Auckland District Court.

The 52-year-old was immediately taken into custody with a packed bag on Thursday but cannot be named, as police fear for his safety.

In a wide-ranging interview three weeks ago, he told the Weekend Herald how the international syndicate smuggled thousands of Ecstasy pills into New Zealand.

He was arrested and charged last July after an undercover police operation that discovered tablets hidden in gift baskets from the famous London department store Harrods.

Police say there is evidence that the drug syndicate smuggled in 100,000 pills in three months, but only a fraction of the drugs were found.

The size of the haul alarmed police, who say the market is much bigger than they thought.

The Dealer says "business boomed" when the Government banned BZP party pills in April last year.

"I went from selling 5000 pills a month to 5000 pills a week."

He freely admitted being involved in the global drug ring for the past five years, estimating that up to 200,000 Ecstasy pills had been smuggled into New Zealand each year and sold for more than $12 million.

Police found hundreds of thousands of dollars stashed in safety deposit boxes. The Dealer says millions of dollars were smuggled to Thailand in "money runs" and then spirited back to London.

Detectives cracked the alleged drug syndicate after bugging the phones and homes of the Dealer.

Cash and drugs were often exchanged in broad daylight in Auckland's Viaduct Harbour, the hub of the city's nightlife, where Ecstasy is popular with clubgoers.

The charges to which the Dealer pleaded guilty carry a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison, but he is not worried about going to jail.

"I've lived a colourful live for 30 years. After all that great fun, going to prison is the tax I have to pay."

But authorities say dealing in Ecstasy is not a victimless crime.

Massey University drug researcher Dr Chris Wilkins says the drug has many health side-effects, including potentially lethal hyperthermia and hyponatraemia.

Hyponatraemia is an imbalance of natural salts in the blood, which can be caused by drinking too much water and can result in swelling of the brain.

High Ecstasy doses can cause paranoia, hallucinations and confusion.