Some of the 1,200 ‘UPS’ ecstasy tablets seized by police in Derry

Some of the 1,200 ‘UPS’ ecstasy tablets seized by police in Derry

The Public Health Agency (PHA) has issued a warning about the potentially lethal dangers of taking a new designer ecstasy drug.

Drugs branded with the parcel courier's logo 'UPS' have been flooding the streets of the UK and in recent days police have seized more than a thousand of the yellow tablets in the Londonderry and Coleraine areas.

The PHA believes the narcotics may be circulating around the local drugs scene and has raised its early warning measures to urge the public to avoid it or seek urgent medical help if they have experimented with the drug.

Potential health issues include heatstroke, water intoxication from drinking too much fluids and heart failure.

Owen O'Neill from the PHA said the pills, also known as MDMA, were packed with toxic chemicals and could prove fatal for anyone considering taking them.

"If you have taken drugs and are feeling unwell, please seek medical help urgently," Mr O'Neill said.

The PHA also advised people considering taking the drug to take a small amount at first and seek help as soon as they feel unwell.

It said anyone who had taken the drug should drink no more than a pint of water an hour.

Three people have been arrested on suspicion of possessing the drugs following seizures in the north west.

Detective Inspector Andy Dunlop from the PSNI's Organised Crime Branch appealed for the public's help to track down dealers in the tablets.

He added: "In recent days police have made seizures of these tablets in Derry and Portstewart - two in Derry and one in Portstewart.

"One seizure in Derry amounted to 1,200 tablets.

"A number of alerts have been circulated to particular interest groups but we believe it is now appropriate to advise the general public about this risk.

"MDMA is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening drug and there have been well documented fatalities caused by people taking this substance."

Background

Last year ecstasy tablets nicknamed "green Rolex" and the so-called legal high "speckled cherries" flooded the streets. Speckled cherries were blamed for a cluster of 20 deaths. Coroners described the drug explosion as like having a "killer on the loose" and that those experimenting with the deadly drugs were playing "Russian roulette with their lives".

Belfast Telegraph