Gardaí arrest suspected distributor and local supplier over ‘highly dangerous’ party drug
Gardaí and health experts yesterday moved to clarify that the drug was not 2C-B, as was initially thought but a derivative called 25I-NBOMe.
The man was one of six people rushed to hospital early on Tuesday after suffering serious effects at a house party on St Patrick’s Terrace on Green Street.
Sources told the Irish Examiner that gardaí had “arrested the supplier and his supplier, the source of the drug”.
Gardaí are endeavouring to ensure that there is no more of the substance in circulation.
Sources said 25I-NBOMe was a “highly dangerous” drug, particularly when taken in powder form, as at the Cork party.
“It is a very potent substance and in powder form you have no idea how much you are taking.
“If you swallow it, in little paper bombs, or snort it, even a line, it could be fatal,” said a Garda source.
In an updated alert, the HSE warned people that there was “no quality control” on 25I-NBOMe or its related 2C drugs and advised them not to consume “any unknown substances”.
Andrew Cunningham of the European drugs agency said: “Due to its high potency, 25I-NBOMe, in the form of powders and liquids, where it is more difficult to limit the dose taken, may increase the risk of serious adverse events.”
The WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence described the risk from it as “especially serious”.
