Two Colombians (aged 34 and 43) and an Italian (45) were arrested yesterday after a suitcase containing 120,000 ecstasy tablets was found in the back of their car.

The three suspects were arrested as the Italian man, unaware that he had been tailed, was handing over the vehicle to the Colombian pair close to where the Summercase music festival is being staged this weekend in Boadilla del Monte (Madrid).

With each tablet fetching between €8-€15, the total market value of the haul is estimated at over a million euros.

It seems that the drugs were bought in Holland and transported by the Italian man to Spain by car.

The importance of the haul becomes apparent given that, up until the end of last month, only 162,500 ecstasy tablets were seized across the whole of Spain, and that the total for last year was 481,600.

Ecstasy, or MDMA, is an illegal, synthetic, psychoactive drug which produces a euphoric sensation of intimacy with others as well as diminished feelings of fear and anxiety, but can be fatal.