MAN CHARGED WITH SMUGGLING ECSTASY

MIAMI (AP) -- A Dutch citizen has been arrested and charged with attempting
to smuggle the synthetic club drug Ecstasy into the United States by
swallowing 3,500 pills encased in packets.

Andy Ramon Jacobs, 24, was charged with trafficking and importation of
Ecstasy, and was being held Friday at Miami-Dade County Jail in lieu of
$500,000 bond, county police said.

Jacobs was detained by U.S. Customs agents at Miami International Airport
after his arrival Tuesday on a flight from Amsterdam.

Customs agents interviewed Jacobs and determined he had ingested the pills.
Officials said 84 packets were recovered containing pills worth about $70,000.

The county public defender's office, which is representing Jacobs, refused
to comment.

Ecstasy contains methamphetamine and is known chemically as MDMA. It can
cause hallucinations and euphoria, but can cause strokes and heart attacks
and has been shown to impair intelligence.