Text: U.S. Customs Seizes Drug Ecstasy from Europe

04 April 2001

Text: U.S. Customs Seizes Drug Ecstasy from Europe

Canadian citizen arrested with 19 kilos of the drug

The U.S. Customs Service reports the arrest of a Canadian citizen March 30 for the possession of almost 19 kilos of the drug ecstasy, formally known as 3, 4-methylenedioxy methamphetamine or MDMA. That amount is equivalent to almost 79,000 doses of the drug.

The suspect was arrested at the Newark (New Jersey) International Airport, arriving from Copenhagen, Denmark, on a flight originating in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The United States and the European Union recently led an effort at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs to impose tighter controls on transactions of the chemicals used in MDMA manufacture. Surveys show that as many as 12 percent of young people in the United States are using the drug and as many as 5 percent in the European Union are taking the synthetic drug ingested in pill form.

MDMA, taken primarily by teenagers and young adults, intoxicates the user by affecting the body's serotonin system, which governs mood and body temperature.

Further information on the U.S. Customs effort to interdict ecstasy shipments and warn the public of its dangers is available at http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/news/news.htm

(begin text)

U.S. CUSTOMS NEWS

U.S. Customs Service Public Affairs Office

PRESS RELEASE Monday, April 2, 2001

Customs Seizes 18 Kilos of Gift Wrapped Ecstasy

Newark, N.J. -- On March 30, 2001, U.S. Customs inspectors at Newark International Airport seized 18.75 kilos of MDMA, (78,771 ecstasy pills) concealed in the luggage of a Canadian citizen. The estimated street value of the drugs is $1.5 million.

Tuesday Gayle Cabacungan, a 24-year-old dancer from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, arrived at Newark International Airport aboard SAS flight # 901 from Copenhagen, Denmark, which originated in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

During a routine examination, Customs inspectors found two gift wrapped packages of unusually heavy weight. Examination of the boxes revealed numerous plastic bags containing pills which field-tested positive for Ecstasy.

The passenger explained to Customs agents that she was to transport the packages of pills to Los Angeles, after receiving plane tickets from an unknown individual at Newark Airport. No further contacts were made and Ms. Cabacungan was arrested.

An individual Ecstasy tablet can be manufactured for as little as 2 cents in the Netherlands and sold for as much as $20 -- $45 in the United States. During Fiscal Year 2000, Customs seized 9.3 million Ecstasy tablets. Since October 1, 2000 (FY 2001 to date), Customs has seized more than 3.5 million ecstasy pills nationwide.

Prosecution will be handled by the U.S. Attorney's office in Newark.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)