Eleven of the 14 men indicted last June in connection with an international ecstasy-smuggling ring have been sentenced to prison by a U.S. District Court in Detroit.

The alleged ringleader, 25-year-old Brent Killinger, pleaded guilty last week to importation of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Kip Presslaff and Brandon Wackowski were each sentenced to six years in prison in connection with the distribution of a controlled substance.

Many of the ecstasy couriers and distributors apparently had a Bloomington connection, said Dave Hannum, an Indiana University police officer who assisted in the investigation.

The investigation began after 11,000 pills were seized from three men at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport in October 2001. Jay Brown, Kristian Walter and Samuel Cruz had allegedly flown from Amsterdam, Netherlands, with more than six pounds of pills taped to their legs.

Other alleged members of the ring — Brent Mortara, Jeremy Slyh, Christopher Applegate, Jay Brown, Andrew Warnke, Samuel Cruz, Kristian Walter and Justin Abram — were given prison terms ranging from a few days to up to four and a half years in prison in connection with the case. Benjamin Dakin is expected to receive his sentence soon.

Koen Michael Frans Van Riemsdijk Kreenen, the alleged Amsterdam connection, has failed to appear in court and remains a fugitive, according to court records.

Layton Chambers, another former member of the ring, was found stabbed to death in Indianapolis in July.

Despite the large number of people sentenced in connection with the ring, Hannum said he believes this was only "the tip of the iceberg" and that the case is still under investigation.

Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University demonstrated that 4 days of exposure to the drug caused damage that persisted 6 to 7 years later.

Memory tests of people who have taken Ecstasy as compared to non-drug users have shown that the Ecstasy users had lower scores.

The Federal penalty for manufacturing or selling ecstasy can lead to fines up to four million dollars. A ringleader or head manufacturer of ecstasy could receive life in prison.

Some pills sold as ecstasy actually contain little or no MDMA. Pills may contain other drugs such as PMA or another MDMA analogue, DXM, household chemicals such as Ajax or rat poison, or other (sometimes lethal) byproducts.