Big haul of new drug in Spain

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Big haul of new drug in Spain: "Spanish police have arrested a gang that allegedly trafficked a little known psychotropic drug, passed off as ecstasy but more dangerous, at discos around Madrid. Officers arrested 13 people, mostly Spaniards in their 20s, and confiscated 31,000 pills with the same colour, shape and shark logo as ecstasy, the interior ministry said. The alleged ringleader used a network of young women to distribute the pills at clubs to avoid raising suspicion.

The new drug, known as M-CPP or meta-chlorophenylpiperazine, stimulates the nervous system and produces the same hallucinatory effects as ecstasy, but can be more toxic, the interior ministry said. Potential side effects include psychosis, outbreaks of violence and poisoning. A police statement described it as "a new psychotropic substance, unknown to date and a producer of serious effects."

Each M-CPP tablet sells for between ?6 (£4.20) and ?12. The entire batch of 31,000 could have fetched about ?300,000. It is the largest supply recovered so far in Europe where the drug has been circulating at least since late last year, according to the newspaper El Pa?s. Police have seized smaller lots in Finland, Norway, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. It is believed to have originated in eastern Europe.

M-CPP has been used in clinical trials on recovering alcoholics, in whom it produced a state similar to drunkenness, El Pa?s said. It is also cited in psychiatric research related to the neurotransmitter serotonin, a mood regulator."