MDMA pills from France with derogatory sign ‘ACAB’ seized at Chennai, worth $5445

In a first, Chennai Air Customs officials have seized synthetic drug tablets that have come in from France. Based on intelligence, officials had detained a postal parcel suspected to contain narcotics substance, which arrived from at the Foreign Post Office. On examination it was found to contain MDMA tablets worth Rs 4 lakhs. 

The parcel which contained a plastic pouch carried pink-colored tablets suspected to be MDMA, a narcotic substance. This particular variant of the tablet is known as ‘ACAB Pig’. ACAB is an acronym of a derogatory term and is used as a slogan used in protests, graffiti, tattoos and other imagery. The pills themselves were in the shape of a cartoon pig. Senior officials said that this was the first time that this variant of MDMA pills were being seized, that too from France. 

Reports from the UK state that authorities urge public to exercise extra caution with such pills which are shaped like cartoons. This is done as children may chance upon the harmful substances by accident and consume them considering them to be sweets. There have been many instances where such pills with a cartoon shape have been seized in various countries. 

130 MDMA pills valued at 5445USD or Rs 4 lakhs were recovered and seized under the NDPS Act, 1985. The seized tablets contain around 250mg of MDMA which is a very high dose. The parcel arrived from Poulainville, a town in Northern France and was consigned to an address in Chennai city. Searches at the apartment did not yield results are the apartment was locked and was said to have been unoccupied since the lockdown.