Police have issued a warning ahead of New Year’s Eve over a batch of ‘killer lion ecstasy’ amid fears it may have caused the deaths of two men.
John Milburn, 19, died in an ambulance after emergency services were called to the ‘Cream’ night in the early hours of Sunday morning whilst the second clubber was named as 47-year-old Andy Glaister who was rushed to hospital after attending the closing party at Nation in Liverpool city centre. A post-mortem examination is due to take place.
Mr Glaister was a well-known figure in Isle of Man motor sport and Chris Boyde, a motor sport journalist from the Isle of Man – around a four hour ferry trip from Merseyside – said he was stunned by his death.
He told the Mirror:
Andy was great fun to be around and the whole sport was shocked to hear of his death. He was a competitor and dedicated organiser who went out of his way to help fellow competitors. You couldn’t have met a nicer bloke. All our thoughts are with his wife and family.
Officers are concerned that the shield-shaped tablets – recognisable by an unusual ‘lion’ or ‘griffin’ marking – were in circulation at the club, however they are unsure whether both men took the illegal substances.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Ephgrave said:
At this stage of the investigation we are exploring a number of lines of inquiry. The men were not in a group together. Our message is clear, it is not only illegal to buy and sell drugs but it can also be very dangerous and potentially fatal.
In response to the tragedy, Manchester’s The Warehouse Project tweeted warnings to over 150,000 followers about a batch of potentially fatal substances in circulation in the North-West of England.
Cream organisers have previously expressed their sadness at the ‘tragic incident’ marred the Boxing Night event at Nation – the final sell-out show before the site is bulldozed to make way for a new £40million redevelopment of shops, cafes and an underground music venue.
