Man who bought 'smart pills' from India arrested for smuggling

A man who bought Indian “smart pills" online to help him with his work and studies has been arrested for smuggling drugs, Hongkou District People’s Procuratorate said.

The pills were were identified as modafinil, a stimulant which is a strictly controlled psychotropic substance in China.

Prosecutors said that on July 15 the city’s postal department found a suspicious parcel mailed from India. When police went to the address on the parcel, they found a man surnamed Shi with two boxes of drugs in his possession.

Shi told police officers they were nootropics (drugs claimed to improve mental performance) that he bought from a daigou (an overseas shopper who buys foreign products for domestic customers) in India via a Taobao store for 700 yuan (US$98).

Shi said he was a financial analyst under great stress at work. He was also preparing for exams so decided to buy some “smart pills."

Prosecutors said it was not the first time Shi had taken modafinil and a hospital report indicated that he was addicted to the drug.