Police displayed these colourful ecstasy pills Monday. They were seized in a raid Friday in St. John's, police said. (CBC)

Police say illegal pills they seized in a drug bust in St. John's last week are geared toward getting young people hooked on drugs.

RCMP drug investigators say Friday's bust was the biggest seizure of ecstasy pills ever in the province.

Hassan Kamel Al-Amiri, 24, of St. John's and Mahmood Ahmed Alsaihati, a 24-year-old citizen of Saudi Arabia, were arrested when members of a tactical unit and drug squad stormed a house in the city centre Friday afternoon, and seized about 15,000 ecstasy pills, a quantity of cocaine and about $4,000 in cash.

They face drug trafficking and drug possession charges.

RCMP Const. Stephen Conohan said the ecstasy pills are colourful and have cartoon characters such as Spider-Man on them. Police say it's an effort to trick children into thinking they are eating candy.

"It's no big deal if I take one with a Spider-Man on it," Conohan said of how drug dealers hope young kids respond. "It's all a marketing ploy. But, it's very bad news. There's a very real risk of either heart attack or kidney failure."

RCMP Cpl. Kimball Vardy said ecstasy pills can be loaded with toxic chemicals, and some of the ecstasy found in the province has contained highly addictive methamphetamine.

"This is done for the hooking factor," he said. "They want to get the kids hooked on these drugs and keep them so suppliers can have a continuous supply to bring it to."

The police don't believe ecstasy is being manufactured in the province, but they said they're trying to find a way to cut it off at the source.