Drug amnesty bins at T in the Park over deaths linked to 'Rolex' ecstasy pills

Teenager Demi Campbell becomes the seventeenth UK victim of PMA tablets

A photo issued by police Scotland of some tablets that are being sold as ecstasy that contain dangerous chemicals following a seventh death related to drug-taking (Police Scotland/PA Wire)

The death of a seventh teenager linked to fake ecstasy tablets in Scotland has prompted police in Glasgow to introduce drug bins at this weekend’s T in the Park festival.

Eighteen-year-old Demi Campbell reportedly became the latest casualty in a spate of deaths associated with counterfeit drugs in Scotland and Northern Ireland on Tuesday morning.

Police yesterday confirmed that they have arrested a 24-year-old man in connection with her death and issued a public warning to festival-goers likely to take drugs this weekend.

“Following investigations into the death of an 18-year-old woman in Alexandria, Dunbartonshire, on July 19, a 24-year-old man has been arrested,” a spokesman for the force said. “He is presently detained in police custody.”

Superintendent Grahame Clarke, from Police Scotland's western division, added the young girl and three friends had taken “what they thought were ecstasy tablets” stamped with a Rolex crown logo. But police are also warning of a white pill with the Mitsubishi logo, and a yellow tablet adorned with a star.

The green ‘Rolex’ pills are believed to have caused 17 fatalities across the UK – seven in Scotland and a further 10 in Northern Ireland – due to a dangerous mix of para-Methoxyamphetamine (PMA), a substance that has been linked to overdose deaths since its creation in the 1970s.

“Public warnings have been issued recently in relation to the dangers of taking ecstasy, or indeed tablets being passed off as ecstasy,” Superintendent Clarke said. “They are illegal and could contain a cocktail of toxic ingredients.”

“We have yet to establish if this particular pill is to blame for the death of this young woman, but the fact that she and her friends took pills described as green and with a Rolex stamp on it causes us real concern.”

In an attempt to prevent further fatalities, police will offer amnesty to any T in the Park attendees who opt to bin their drugs in police-operated disposal units across the campsite.