Man jailed for smuggling 29,000 skull-shaped ecstasy tablets to South Tyneside in Snapchat deal

A man who tried to import tens of thousands of ecstasy tablets to South Tyneside via the postal system in a deal arranged over Snapchat has been jailed.

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 Marshall Scurfield, 22, who at the time lived in Coniston Avenue, in Hebburn.

The tablets 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 Snapchat.

He was arrested by NCA officers on 25 February 2022 after being observed accepting the package.

When questioned, Scurfield admitted that 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 and admitted the offence at Newcastle Crown Court on 2 July this year.

Scurfield, who now lives in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, was sentenced to four years imprisonment at the same court on Tuesday (3 December).

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."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...