The Customs Service, after a yearlong investigation, has cracked an international smuggling ring that it says brought into the U.S. an estimated 9 million tablets of the hallucinogenic drug Ecstasy.
Customs officials said Wednesday that 25 people have been arrested, including accused ringleader Jacob Orgad, an Israeli emigre who operated in Los Angeles, New York and Europe.
Orgad was arrested by Customs agents in New York on April 7 and is accused of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to import and distribute narcotics and other violations, the agency said.
Customs spokesman Dean Boyd said the 24 other suspects were arrested in several locations, including Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Paris, over the last three months.
The investigation has resulted in seizure of nearly 650,000 tablets of the designer drug.
