Ecstasy pill seizures rocket in 2016

Wednesday 12 July 2017

A new Customs report has revealed that seizures of potentially deadly ecstasy pills rocketed in 2016, with a 2,800% increase on the previous year.

The value of seizures of the highly dangerous Class A drug, which can cause hallucinations, nausea, tremors and even death, shot up from £29,486 in 2015 to £856,075 last year.

The news, which comes as part of the Customs and Immigration Annual Report 2016, follows the recent case of a local teenager Kyle Pringle, who died after taking an IKEA-themed ecstasy pill.

Police officials later issued a warning about further sightings of ecstasy on island streets – this time in the form of a purple pill featuring the Barcelona FC crest.

Pictured: Two of the forms of ecstasy, which can be lethal, found to have been circulating Jersey recently.

But ecstasy wasn’t the only illegal substance to see a significant increase in seizures. Cannabis hauls soared from £1.6million to £2.7million – more than three quarters of the overall confiscation sum of £3,778,673.

The total – made up of 153 separate seizures – was around double the average for the previous five years.

However, the report also showed strong declines in all other areas, including heroin, amphetamine, subutex and steroids.

This fall was most significant in the area of so-called ‘legal highs’, known officially as New Psychoactive Substances (NPS). The amount confiscated by officials was found to have dropped by nearly 50% to £55,000. That figure, however, was “inflated” by a particularly large haul worth around £50k towards the end of the year. 

“The reduction in seizures can be attributed to the multi-agency approach regarding the dangers of taking these substances involving not only law enforcement, but also Health and Social Services, Education and the Prison Me No Way programme, together with the introduction of the Psychoactive Substances Act in the UK in May 2016,” the report stated. 

Pictured: The value of seizures broken down per drug in 2016. (Customs and Immigration Annual Report 2016)

The offences led to the prosecutions of 32 people for a range of charges including the importation of drugs and possession with intent to supply. 

Customs and Immigration Officers in the Financial Crimes Unit also concluded 36 cases of drug trafficking, five of money laundering and made three cash seizures, resulting in forfeiture orders in excess of £120k and a cash forfeiture figure of nearly £40k. 

Some of the prosecutions came as the result of cross-jurisdictional work, including with Guernsey, UK and French border officials.

“In such operations, officers of the Service will always look to effect arrests and make seizures where this will cause the greatest impact on the drug syndicate itself. If this means arranging for action to be taken by a law enforcement agency outside the Island, then that is the strategy that will be adopted,” the report explained.

Identifying drug couriers was noted as a key task in, “…disrupting the Island’s [illegal substance] supply”, with officials concluding that this would continue as a priority throughout 2017.