Ecstasy pill variants ‘Frosch’ and ‘Lamborghini’ worth Rs 16 lakh seized in Chennai

In the seizure of recreational drugs in Tamil Nadu, new variants of ecstasy pills commonly known as ‘Frosch’ and ‘Lamborghini’ have been seized by Customs Officials at the Foreign post office in Chennai. There have been multiple thwarted attempts of ecstasy pills smuggling into Chennai via Foreign post in the recent weeks. 

On suspicion of containing narcotic substances, Chennai Air Customs had detained two postal parcels which arrived from the Netherlands. 

On examination, the first parcel was found to contain 490 green-coloured pills suspected to be MDMA, a narcotics substance. These pills commonly known as ‘Frosch’ have a smiley on one side and contain around 160 mg of MDMA. 

The second parcel was found to contain 50 orange pills embossed with a bull logo, similar to that of the supercar brand. These pills are known as “Lamborghini” and contain around 200 mg of MDMA. The seized pills are extremely potent as they contain a very high dosage of MDMA. Dosage above 120 mg is considered to be high and can be fatal.

Total 540 MDMA pills valued at Rs 16 lakh were recovered and seized under the NDPS Act, 1985.

MDMA is commonly known as ecstasy, a party drug that alters mood and perception and is chemically similar to both stimulants and hallucinogens which produce feelings of increased energy and pleasure. 

The parcels were addressed to two different persons in the city. As a follow-up action, officials carried out searches at the addresses and detained two persons to ascertain their role in smuggling. 

“During the lockdown period, the availability of alcohol and drugs have come down and we have been maintaining a strict vigil. In recent times most of the ecstasy drug parcels have come from Europe as that is the hub of illegal MDMA pill manufacture. In terms of the pills, Netherlands is said to offer the best quality and these drugs are very common among youth in Europe. These are popular party drugs that are even used by teenagers in certain countries”  Customs Commissioner, Rajan Choudhary told WION. 

During the recent weeks (including the 17-day lockdown in Chennai) there has been a spurt in ecstasy seizures. Four parcels containing highly potent drugs had been seized over the last few weeks. The combined value of these four drug parcels (excluding the latest), all of which contained variants of ecstasy are Rs 26 lakhs.

In March this year, Air Customs had seized ecstasy pills worth Rs 30 lakh at the Foreign Post Office, Chennai and arrested a Mysore based person.