6 Asian Univ. of Calif. students nabbed in campus drug bust

Mariah Daniel, top left, Benny Liu and Ceilia Le and, bottom, Haoi Nguyen, Nathan Tieu and Cesar Casil were arrested in connection with an alleged student-run drug ring at UC Santa Cruz. SANTA CRUZ POLICE

SAN FRANCISCO – Police in Santa Cruz, California arrested six members of a UC Santa Cruz fraternity and a sorority as a result of an international drug ring investigation.

Cecilia Le, Hoai Nguyen, Nathan Tieu, Cesar Casil, Benny Liu and Mariah Dremel, all 21, were nabbed on suspicion of possessing a controlled substance MDMA (Molly) for sale and allegedly running an Ecstasy ring.

According to a Santa Cruz Police spokeswoman drugs like MDMA alter perception and awareness and lower inhibitions oftentimes resulting in sexual exploitation.

Police, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Department of Homeland Security uncovered several packages of MDMA from overseas addressed to students in three homes in Santa Cruz. The students were members of the Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity and the Alpha Kappa Delta Phi sorority,

Police seized more than $100,000 in MDMA shipments on March 4 from the three homes where searches also found some 5,000 tablets of MDMA tablets.

Homeland Security agents on Friday intercepted another large MDMA shipment sent to the same group, Santa Cruz police said.

Leaders of the Alpha Kappa Delta Phi International Sorority Inc. and Lambda Phi Epsilon are cooperating with police.

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