Kannur: The excise department arrested a youth for ordering 70 LSD stamps online from the Netherlands through the dark web, and arranging for the banned substance to be dispatched through the postal services as a parcel.

The arrested youth is K P Sreerag from Koothuparamba's Paral in Kannur district of Kerala. Excise officers had received a tip-off regarding the parcel and inspected it at the Koothuparamba post office. The parcel contained 1,607 mg of LSD stamps. Officers said the stamps were priced at around Rs 3 lakh.

Sreerag, who was arrested soon after, admitted he had ordered the stamps on the dark web on May 1. The payment was made with Bitcoin by creating a special account on the dark web, he told the excise officers.

Under Indian law, possession of 100 mg of LSD stamps could invite a jail sentence of 10-20 years. Excise officers said they had earlier registered a case against Sreerag for possessing ganja.

The team which arrested Sreerag included excise circle inspector, Koothuparamba, Janeesh M S, preventive officer Sukesh Kumar Vandichal, civil excise officers Prajeesh Kottayi, Subin M, Sasesh C K, Vishnu N C and excise driver Latheesh Chandran.

LSD or Lysergic Acid Diethylamide is a psychedelic drug that alters awareness of perception, thoughts and feelings. It is popularly called 'acid' and is often peddled as traces sprinkled on blotter paper, also called stamps.