The NCB officials said they received a tip-off on August 10 that the pills have been brought into the country by a courier company. (Representational)

The Mumbai Zonal Unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized 3,056 ecstasy pills, a banned high-quality contraband drug. The NCB said it has also arrested a couple and its investigations have revealed that the contraband was sourced from Brussels and Belgium.

The NCB officials said they received a tip-off on August 10 that the pills have been brought into the country by a courier company. The same day, the Goregaon office of the company was searched and officials seized 3,010 pills of MDMA (969 gm), commonly known as ecstasy.

“The pills were seized from a parcel containing soft toys. However, contrary to the usual modus operandi, the pills were not hidden inside the soft toys, they were concealed inside the false cavity in the cardboard box containing the consignment,” read a statement issued by NCB.

It added that during the course of investigation, it recovered 46 tablets (17.5 gm) of MDMA from the Navi Mumbai residence of a couple — H A Choudhary and R Batharey — who procured the drugs from Belgium. They have been arrested and sent to judicial custody. “The group used cryptocurrency as a mode of payment. We believe the drug cartel based in central Europe is involved in the case,” said an official.