Police Warn Of Pink ‘Teddy Bear’ Ecstasy Tablets.

North Wales Police and the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board are warning local communities after two young men fell ill after taking what are thought to be ‘Pink Teddy Bear’ ecstasy tablets. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

District Sergeant Matt Geddes at Porthmadog Police Station said “Last weekend two young men from the south Gwynedd area were admitted to hospital after taking what are thought to be ‘Pink Teddy Bear’ ecstasy tablets at a party. One was extremely ill and admitted to Intensive Care, fortunately both have recovered and are now home with their respective families. From our initial enquiries we believe they may have taken the illegal Class A Controlled Drug ecstasy albeit work is on-going to confirm this. A local investigation into the source and supply of these drugs is ongoing and we are seeking any information that may assist identify the suppliers.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Equally important however is the need to warn young people of the inherent dangers of taking controlled drugs and I would strongly urge those who supply or use ‘Pink Teddy Bears’ in particular to think hard about what they are doing and to stop immediately. The family of the, initially, extremely ill young man are hugely grateful of the medical care their son received and relieved the outcome is positive however they’d hate to see other families going through the same pain and so are fully supportive of what we are trying to do and in warning people and identifying the suppliers” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We continue to work with our partners to highlight the dangers of drug abuse and under Operation Scorpion we actively target those concerned in the supply of controlled drugs. I should stress that whilst we have no credible information to suggest there is a ‘rogue batch’ of illegal drugs in circulation people are requested to take the appropriate precautions” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Dr Hywel Hughes, an Emergency Department Consultant at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital added “Over the last few years we’ve seen an increase in the number of people ending up in our care after becoming seriously ill as a result of taking psychoactive substances. You cannot know what these substances contain and they can be deadly. If you saw the impact they can have you’d think twice. It is simply not worth the risk.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Sergeant Geddes concluded “We are fully committed to providing a Safer North Wales and delivering a quality of service our communities deserve but we can’t do this alone and key to all our work, and that of our partners, is intelligence and I cannot emphasise enough the importance of the community sharing their concerns with us. Information can be passed to Police in several ways, from either speaking to your local Police Officer or PCSO, contacting the control room direct via the web live chat http://www.north-wales.police.uk/contact/chat-support.aspx or phoning 101 or messaging via Facebook or Twitter. If you’d rather pass information anonymously then phone Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“In line with the force’s Operation Scorpion we are fully committed to the investigation of serious and organised crime and eradicating it from our communities and I’d reiterate that anyone with information regarding the production and supply of controlled drugs or anyone they believe is involved in organised crime contact North Wales Police” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​