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Fourth death in UK may be linked to bad batch of drugs

A man has died in Telford in the UK after taking drugs which may be linked to three previous deat...
Newstalk
Newstalk

08.27 2 Jan 2015


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Fourth death in UK may be link...

Fourth death in UK may be linked to bad batch of drugs

Newstalk
Newstalk

08.27 2 Jan 2015


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A man has died in Telford in the UK after taking drugs which may be linked to three previous deaths in Suffolk.

West Mercia police said the 27-year-old man was found dead at a house on Woodside Road in Ketley, Telford, around 1.45pm on New Year's Day.

Superintendent James Tozer said he was not officially linking the death to those in Suffolk, where three people have died after taking the drugs, but admitted there "appear to be similarities".

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A spokesman for the force said: "Police believe the death could have been a result of taking an illegal drug which is described as a red triangle shape with a Superman sign on it. It has also been described as a round shape."

The news came just hours after police in Suffolk, where the drug has been linked to three deaths, appealed for people to hand the drugs in.

Officers promised people would not face prosecution, adding that the first priority is to protect people and remove the "dangerous batch" of pills from circulation.

Superintendent Louisa Pepper, from Suffolk Police, said that anyone who has the tablets, believed to be red, triangular and embossed with an "S" Superman emblem, should hand them in at a police station, accident and emergency department or fire station.

She said: "Please don't be worried about any sort of prosecution because we genuinely just want (the drugs) off the streets."

She denied, however, that this was the beginning of a drug amnesty, adding: "These are potentially so dangerous we need to remove them from the streets to prevent further deaths."

Meanwhile, one of the men who died from taking an ecstasy pill thought to have been part of the batch has been named as 20-year-old labourer John Hocking.

Neighbours of a second man, who died in Provan Court, Ipswich, the same day, said he was originally from Lithuania and aged about 24.

Another man from the same address, although thought to be from Lithuania, was yesterday in hospital in a serious condition, but Supt Pepper said he was "improving".

Supt Pepper said officers would be speaking with those in the Lithuanian community this afternoon with translated appeal notices to hand out.

Suffolk Police believe the death of a third man in a house on Bramford Lane, Ipswich, on 24 December, could also be linked to the drug.

Suffolk Police said this is the first time they have come across pills matching this description, drawing a link between the drugs and dangerous pills with a similar appearance which were found in the Netherlands last month.

The tablets in the Netherlands had a large concentration of PMMA.

PMMA acts more slowly than MDMA, the main component of ecstasy, so people take more pills because they think they are not working.

Originally published at 8.24am


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