Ecstasy pills from UK worth Rs 8 lakh seized in Chennai

CHENNAI: Sleuths at the Chennai air customs have seized 270 ecstasy pills, worth Rs 8 lakh, that arrived from the UK.
On June 26, which is observed as International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the Chennai air customs detained one postal parcel suspected to contain narcotics substance at the foreign post office. The parcel had arrived from Wolverhampton near Birmingham in the UK.
On examination, the parcel was found to contain blue colour pills.Tests showed they were MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine), a narcotic substance. A total of 270 such pills were recovered and seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
The pills, known as "Blue Punisher," bear a skull mark and are in high demand in the UK as they contain high MDMA content, according to the Chennai customs.
The parcel had an incomplete consignee name and was addressed to a person in Tiruvallur district. A search was conducted at the address and a person was found residing there. The man has been detained to ascertain his role in the smuggling of the drug.
This was first time that ecstasy pills coming from the UK were seized here, customs said. Earlier, Chennai air customs had seized ecstasy pills arriving from Germany and the Netherlands. Birmingham and Wolverhampton have recently been in news for a major drug bust effected by the Scotland Yard and the West Midlands Police.