Twenty-six people who allegedly smuggled 260,000 ecstasy pills into the country have been arrested since October by the special Airport Interdiction Task Force (AITF), says a government official.
Niyom Termsrisuk, secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), yesterday said AITF agents seized 39,500 ecstasy pills delivered from Germany and the Netherlands on Aug 1 to 4.
The seizure is part of an anti-drug campaign by AITF agents which began in October after the task force was formed. So far, it has seized a total of 259,416 pills and arrested 26 suspected traffickers, he said.
Mr Niyom said the drugs came from Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Slovenia.
He said samples were sent to the Narcotics Analysis and Technical Services Institute to identify the chemicals present in the pills.
Results showed each pill contained high concentrations of methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), or about four times more than the amount usually contained in methamphetamine pills, Mr Niyom said.
"Consuming such ecstasy [pills] can cause users to be dehydrated and have hyperthermia, which can lead to heart and kidney failure and death," he said.
"It can also kill drug users due to its fatal effects."
