A man who tried to import thousands of ecstasy tablets through the post in a deal arranged over Snapchat has been jailed.
Marshall Scurfield, from Airdrie, was arrested after the National Crime Agency (NCA) was notified by Border Force officers at Birmingham Airport that a parcel had been intercepted and found to contain 29,000 green skull-shaped tablets. It had been sent from the Netherlands and was addressed to Scurfield, 22, who at the time lived in Coniston Avenue, Hebburn, South Tyneside.
The tablets, wrapped in silver foil, later tested positive for MDMA and had an estimated street value of £140,000. As part of the investigation the tablets were removed and a dummy package was sent to Scurfield, who had been receiving parcel tracking updates via the social media site.
Scurfield was arrested by NCA officers on February 25, 2022, after being observed accepting the package. When questioned by police Scurfield admitted he had agreed to accept the parcel to settle a drugs debt, and that arrangements for its delivery had been made using Snapchat.
He was charged with importing class A drugs into the United Kingdom and admitted the offence at Newcastle Crown Court on July 2 this year. On Tuesday, he was sentenced to four years in jail.
Following the sentencing today the NCA released images of the skull-shaped tablets that were sent to Scurfield in the post from the continent. Images show the green tablets were in plastic bags and then wrapped in silver foil in order to try and prevent detection from authorities.
NCA branch commander Martin Clarke said: “Marshall Scurfield attempted to import dangerous class A drugs into the UK and thought that by using the postal system he would escape attention from law enforcement.
“Working with our colleagues at Border Force, we were able to prevent a sizeable quantity of ecstasy from making it to our streets, where it would have created exploitation and violence. We continue to pursue and dismantle high harm organised crime networks behind smuggling attempts like these.”
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