Over 5,000 ecstasy pills worth Rs 1.6 crore which arrived from overseas destinations have been seized in Chennai in two different incidents, Customs Department said on Wednesday.
The pills, suspected to be methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), arrived in two parcels from Belgium and the Netherlands, the Customs Commissioner Rajan Choudhary said in a statement.
In one consignment from Belgium received at the Foreign Post Office, the officials recovered 4,060 pills concealed in nine black pouches, the statement said.
The authorities searched neighbouring Kancheepuram district for the address and found it to be fake, it said.
In other consignment from the Netherlands, the officials recovered 1,150 ecstasy pills, 100 gms of MDMA crystals and one gm of methaqualone powder, the release said. The package was addressed to an individual in Andhra Pradesh and the address belonged to a person who was already arrested in a similar offence, the release said.
In both incidents, a total of 5,210 ecstasy pills, 100 gms of MDMA crystals and one gm of methaqualone were recovered, it added.
In July, 100 such pills worth Rs 3 lakh from the Netherlands were seized, a Customs official had said.
Earlier, the Customs officials at the airport here had foiled a bid to smuggle the pills from the United Kingdom sent through parcel service and detained the consignee.
Consumption of the pills alters the mood similar to stimulants producing feelings of increased energy and pleasure.
