MANILA, Philippines—Ecstasy recreational drugs being sold to affluent youths in Metro Manila now come in capsule form, not just the usual tablets, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
PDEA agents said they arrested three young men caught in a buy-bust operation in which they allegedly tried to sell ecstasy capsules for P1,000 apiece in Makati City on Tuesday night.
Arrested were Yuri Derain-Minagawa, a Filipino-Japanese, 24; Quintin Fernandez, 31; and Christian Niño de Leon, 31. The suspects yielded 10 pieces of “capsulized” ecstasy, PDEA director general Jose Gutierrez Jr. said.
“The ecstasy confiscated [from the suspects] is a variation from the usual tablet from,” Gutierrez said in a statement. “This just shows that these illegal drug personalities are becoming more creative, producing a derivative to avoid detection.”
The main market for the ecstasy capsules, Gutierrez said, is composed of “affluent youth and young professionals.”
Ecstasy is a type of dangerous drug known to induce euphoria among users and may cause severe psychological and physical harm when abused.
The suspects were detained at the PDEA-National Capital Region detention facility. They face charges of selling and conspiracy to sell illegal drugs, which are penalized under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.