Seven cases of serious illness and three deaths among young people in Nottingham are now being linked to illegal drugs by police.
Officers say all the incidents had been recorded ‘in recent weeks’ adding venues popular with students and young people are being targeted by organised drug dealers.
It has prompted Notts Police to underline the dangers of taking illegal drugs in the hope of preventing more incidents.
The force declined to provide a more precise time frame for the incidents, and did not name any of those who died or venues involved.
But Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Jebb said it was crucial young people were aware of what officers believed had happened.
Ms Jebb, the force’s head of crime, said: “Our enquiries suggest that certain venues are being targeted – they are working with police and agencies to eradicate the problem.
“Please ring 999 if you see anyone suffering from the effects of drugs as it could be fatal.
“Police will continue to take very seriously anyone found in possession of illegal drugs; they will be arrested.”
It would be hard not to raise concerns after these collapses
In a statement the force stressed the three fatalities were still being investigated and the link with illegal substances is not yet fully proven.
It read: “We are also investigating three deaths on behalf of the coroner, and whilst the cause of these deaths is not yet known it is believed there may be a connection to illegal drugs.”
The force also said it could not yet say whether a particular drug or mix of drugs is responsible.
Detective Chief Inspector Leona Scurr, who is leading the investigation said: “While we do not yet know exactly what caused these deaths, it would be hard for our investigative team and our partner organisations to sleep at night if we did not raise our concerns with young people, parents and carers in light of this spate of collapses.
“The fact that people have died should serve as a stark warning to you if you are taking or thinking of taking drugs and while these deaths might not be linked to drug use, it would be remiss of us to not warn you of this situation.”
She added: “The fact is that when you buy these substances, you have no idea what they actually are and you don’t know how you will react to them – everyone is different.
“If the danger to your health isn’t enough to make you reconsider using drugs, we want to make it clear that if we find you with drugs, we will arrest you.”
Police are urging anyone with any information about drug-related offences to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Information about drugs is also available through the Government scheme Talk to Frank.
