Northwestern University campus laboratories recently accepted multiple unauthorized orders of chemicals that, when combined, create illegal drugs, according to a Northwestern campus newspaper.

The deliveries totaled more than $13,000 and have sparked a criminal investigation by multiple federal law-enforcement and drug-regulating agencies.

On Northwestern’s Chicago campus, city police are investigating a purchase totaling nearly $4,000 of a chemical used to create the drug Ecstasy.

The Daily Northwestern, a student newspaper at the university, intercepted an e-mail sent to Northwestern faculty and staff Saturday morning stating the university’s primary suppliers of chemical and laboratory products accepted multiple unauthorized orders of “drug-making materials” over the past year.

The chemical used to manufacture Ecstasy that is under investigation is safrole, which was linked with the creation of Ecstasy as early as May 2003 by the Drug Enforcement Agency in a public advisory notice.

Randall Henry, the contact administrator for purchasing for University Services at Northwestern, wrote the e-mail and distributed it to university faculty and staff.

Henry refused to comment on the issue but said that drug-related paraphernalia was not a correct description of the investigation’s focus.

Henry also told The Daily Northwestern these orders were delivered to the school’s Chicago and Evanston campuses, but the recipient of the orders never paid for the materials.

Charles Loebbaka, director of media relations at Northwestern, said he could not give an overview of the events leading to the drug deliveries, but said the issue is an “ongoing investigation by law-enforcement people.”

“[The controversy surrounding the deliveries] is now a criminal investigation not handled by Northwestern; it’s handled by other law enforcement,” Loebbaka said. “It’s not ours at this point.”

The investigation has been turned over to the Chicago Police Department, the DEA and the Northwestern University Campus Police Department.

The Northwestern University Police Department declined to comment further because the deliveries are part of a current criminal investigation.

Henry’s e-mail stated the Federal Bureau of Investigation was investigating the case. An FBI agent, however, denied the claim, according to The Daily Northwestern.

Henry told The Daily Northwestern that since many of the orders were overnight deliveries ordered without university approval by phone or via the Internet, university administrators do not know who actually ordered the shipments.

Henry also said the delivery person is free to walk through the doors and deposit the packages directly in the labs, which are open almost all night, without being challenged by campus security.

University of Wisconsin chemistry professor Paul Treichel said UW science departments have rules for professors to follow when ordering materials to guard against unauthorized orders that could be combined for illegal use. Treichel said certain chemicals that aid in creating illegal drugs are red-flagged at UW.

“There are a lot of chemicals that can be combined to make drugs that are on protected lists and things like that (at UW),” he said. “Orders can’t leave campus without specific approval. There are specific rules for [special ordering].”

UW chemistry professor Steven Burke said illegal drugs such as methamphetamines, PCP and angel dust can be created easily in a laboratory. Although some of the chemicals used to create illegal drugs are routine, the DEA closely monitors the sales of all chemicals known to contribute to illegal drugs, Burke said.

“As soon as someone orders [a contributing drug] and doesn’t have a legitimate need, then they are targeted by the [DEA],” Burke said.

Since many of the unauthorized purchases at Northwestern were ordered over the phone and Internet, Burke said a buyer could offer the laboratory’s legitimate address as a shipping location in order to gain access to the chemicals.

UW has had trouble ordering certain chemicals for research in the past due to the DEA’s tight security, and occasionally UW labs attract outside intruders, Burke said.

“Some people do come in and look around periodically to look at the chemicals, and they get caught,” he said. “It’s usually pretty easy to spot someone who doesn’t belong in [the labs].”