Warning after three die as a result of rogue ecstasy batch

Three people — in Cork, Offaly and Wexford — are now confirmed to have died in recent weeks after taking a rogue ecstasy batch containing a powerful amphetamine.

And senior gardaí expect that more deaths may be confirmed in the coming days, with up to four fatalities suspected to be linked to two closely related chemicals, called PMA and PMMA.

The disclosure follows details of the death of a 16-year-old Wexford boy in Waterford Regional Hospital last Monday.

The Irish Examiner established yesterday that a second fatality, that of a 25-year-old female, occurred in Offaly on April 23 last.

And a third death, that of a 23-year-old male, occurred in Youghal, east Cork, on March 17 last.

One of the four other deaths still being investigated is also in Offaly, which occurred last December.

Gardaí were yesterday warning ecstasy users, including those attending the Life electronic music festival this weekend in Westmeath, of the dangers. They said the amphetamines have so far been found in green tablets with the Apple and Rolex logos and white pills with the Mitsubishi logo, but added that it could also be in other tablets, as well as powders.

Two men died in Kinsale, Co Cork, in 2012 after taking powder PMMA. Gardaí are also linking a death in Wicklow in 2013 to the drug.

In addition, an inquest found last December that PMA caused the death of 23-year-old Leanne McCloskey, from Mornington, Co Meath, in April 2013.

Garda sources said that the three recent confirmed deaths had consumed “multiple quantities” of the drugs.

Officers said that PMMA and PMA take longer to take effect than MDMA, the normal ecstasy chemical, and that ecstasy users swallow additional quantities in the mistaken belief the tablets are weak.

They are also concerns the substances are more toxic than MDMA and can have far stronger effects on blood pressure and body temperature.

Garda sources said there have been eight separate finds of the amphetamines in tablets this year, including Cork, Dublin, Galway, Clare and Westmeath.