Man jailed for smuggling 'skull' ecstasy pills

A man who tried to use the postal system to import 29,000 skull-shaped ecstasy tablets into the UK has been jailed.

Marshall Scurfield used Snapchat to try and have the green pills delivered from the Netherlands to Coniston Avenue, Hebburn, South Tyneside, where he was living.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the 22-year-old admitted that he agreed to accept the parcel, which had an estimated street value of £140,000, to settle a drug debt.

He admitted one charge of importing class A drugs and was sentenced to four years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court, the NCA said.

Border Force officials at Birmingham Airport intercepted the package and tipped off the NCA.

The tablets were later tested and found to contain the drug MDMA.

The NCA removed the tablets and sent a fake package to Scurfield, who had been receiving parcel tracking updates over Snapchat.

Scurfield, of Rosebank Street, North Lanarkshire, was arrested on 25 February 2022.

NCA branch commander Martin Clarke said Scurfield "thought that by using the postal system he would escape attention from law enforcement".

"Working with our colleagues at Border Force, we were able to prevent a sizeable quantity of ecstasy from making it to our streets, where it would have created exploitation and violence.

"We continue to pursue and dismantle high harm organised crime networks behind smuggling attempts like these," he added.

Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].