Yeah, they sure do love there Ecstacy here...
A lot (I don't know percentages, but it is sizable) of the actual smuggling is done within the ultra-orthodox community.
My guess is that a number of these ultra-orthodox come from the Breslov Chassidim community, but this is somewhat speculation stemming from my own personal observation. They are a Kabbalistic sect who are followers of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov 1772-1810, the great grandson of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (who created the Chasidic movement in general). They believe the purpose of life is to bring Simcha (Happiness) into the world by incessant prayer and through dancing, singing, joy and reaching an ecstatic state. It is well known in Israel that many of the followers use 'short cuts' to reach their esctatic states. Further, they bring in a lot of wayward teens and mushy minded post-India/Thailand-travelling Israeli secular 20 somethings who end up taking too many mushrooms and 'find god'. This creates our own little Jewish Krishnas of a sort.
The Breslovers actually believe that the name "Nachman" is Kabbalisticaly potent and they have created a mantra "Na-Nach-Nachmah-Nachman Meuman" (but in Hebrew letters). Everywhere you go in this country (and I do mean EVERYWHERE), there are bumperstickers, signs, billboards, billboard-sized graffiti (sometimes over an entire building) with the mantra boldly painted on it. One really cannot drive more than 2-3 minutes in any direction without seeing the mantra somewhere. The idea is that if enough people see and speak the mantra, the Messiah (prsumably the Rabbi Nachman) will come.
But again, though I do presume a connection between the Breslovers and this 'e' smuggling business, I have not read a breakdown of which of the Orthodox communities are implicated in the smuggling. (and even if there is a connection, it is probably a small minority and not a systematic institutional part of their doings).
But here is some info below about the Orthodox in general and smggling of 'e'
Bryan
from the U.S. DEA site (http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/intel/01008/)
"Couriers often use customized luggage, designed with hidden compartments such as those used for transporting diamonds. To avoid detection by law enforcement officials, trafficking organizations employ a variety of people as couriers, from young American and European women to male Orthodox Jews."
And from an article in 1999 from the Times (U.K.):
ORTHODOX JEWS USED AS DRUG COURIERS
from Sam Kiley In Jerusalem
ISRAELI and Dutch police have smashed an international drug ring that used ultra-Orthodox Jews as couriers through Belgium, The Netherlands, France, Israel and the United States, exploiting their renowned piety and traditional garb to carry Ecstasy tablets past customs agents.
The key to breaking the ring, allegedly run by two Israelis based in Europe, was the work of an Israeli undercover agent, who spent ten months in The Netherlands. He is said to have bought 600,000 Ecstasy tablets from the main suspect in an investigation that has so far led to the arrests of 41 people in Europe and eight in Israel.
"The couriers were young Americans and Israelis, most of them ultra-Orthodox Jews," an Israeli police spokesman said. Among the drug gang, 24 were Israelis, almost all of them ultra-Orthodox Jews. One man's job was to recruit young religious Jews to smuggle drugs.
On raids at 36 addresses in The Netherlands, Dutch police found firearms, cash, and the explosive Semtex.
In Israel, the ultra-Orthodox tend to be unpopular with secular Jews because they do not have to serve in the armed forces, yet their yeshivot ( seminaries ) are well subsidised. They have seldom resorted to violence, beyond flinging stones at cars driving in their areas on the Sabbath.