Police raided a house in Lockridge, seizing a pill press and charging three men with importation and possession charges

Drug researchers say this week's haul of ecstasy powder, or MDMA, will have an effect on the national ecstasy market.On Monday a joint operation between Federal and state police forces arrested people in several cities. Police tracking the drug ring had earlier seized and substituted 45 kilograms of ecstasy ingredient MDMA, and kept monitoring the operation before making the arrests.In Western Australia, Police raided a house in Lockridge, seizing a pill press and charging three men with importation and possession charges.Steven Alsop from the National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University says such a big haul will affect use."It has an enormous impact. Two main factors influence drug use and that is supply and demand," he said."Clearly this will reduce supply and will have an impact on the availability and that will reduce the likelihood that some people will be able to use the drug."He says the haul will help, but education programs are also needed. "We shouldn't be complacent, we need to match law enforcement effort with demand-reduction strategies as well because of course while people are wanting the drug there'll always be someone willing to supply it," he said.