RAPID RISE IN SMUGGLING OF ECSTASY REPORTED

WASHINGTON - The Customs Service says it is seeing a growing number
of cases in which airline passengers are swallowing the
hallucinogenic drug ecstasy in an effort to smuggle the illegal
tablets into the United States.

"The use of 'swallowers' in ecstasy smuggling schemes is cause for
serious concern," said Customs Commissioner Raymond Kelly. This
technique has long been a hallmark of the heroin and cocaine trade,
sometimes with fatal consequences for the couriers paid to perform
this risky service."

In the 2000 fiscal year, customs officers seized a record 9.3-million
tablets of ecstasy, a huge increase over 1999's 3.5-million tablets.