Carmarthenshire residents shock following deadly party drug arrests

AMMANFORD saw more arrests for possessing a deadly party drug than anywhere in the county, police say.

Officers have arrested 12 people in the town during the past year for possessing mephedrone — which was made illegal in April last year.

A further nine were arrested in Llanelli — which has ten times more people than Ammanford, and only four people were arrested in Carmarthen — which has double the population.

Mephedrone, also known as meow meow, is a synthetic stimulant, reportedly manufactured in China and comes in the form of tablets or a powder — which users can swallow, snort or inject, producing similar effects to MDMA, amphetamines and cocaine.

Now parents in Ammanford are being warned about its usage.

Dyfed-Powys Police inspector Paul Williams said: "Mephedrone was made an illegal drug on April 16, 2010.

"It's seen by some as a party drug but it's dangerous — side effects can include paranoia and anxiety, and two deaths nationwide have been linked to its usage.

"What I'm hoping to do is make parents in particular aware that this drug is out there and for youngsters to be educated about its harmful side effects."

But Ammanford town councillors, who have long battled what they see as an endemic drug problem in the town, said they were shocked by the figures.

"To know that Ammanford has had more arrests than Llanelli is terrible," said town councillor Wendy Evans.

"But we do know that the drug problem in Ammanford is absolutely awful.

"The people who push drugs in Ammanford should be put up the mountain. Forget wind farms, they should be put up there.

"On top of that these new figures don't reflect what the police are telling us at all — they are going to come unstuck if what they tell us isn't right."

Jane Potter, who is a town councillor and mayor elect, added: "These figures seem very worrying.

"I think someone in the police should be looking at why there are so many drugs in such a small town."

Alan Andrews, of Llanelli drug and alcohol intervention service Chooselife, said the drug had gained popularity in the past two years.

"I constantly get school pupils asking me about it during my conferences," he said. "They don't want to know about other drugs — just meow meow, as they call it.

"I have had to include it in my talks now, as I have had 14 year olds from the town telling me that everyone their age is doing it.

"It's cheaper than other drugs and far more accessible these days."

Ammanford police are appealing for people with any information about the supply of the drug in the town to contact the town's police station on 101.

"Tackling drugs and the harm they cause continues to be one of our priorities," said chief inspector Mark Bleasdale.

"Youngsters need to be aware that not only are they putting their health at risk by using drugs, they're also damaging their future prospects.

"A conviction for drug possession will stay on a person's record and will show up to potential employers and may also affect a person's future ability to travel abroad."

chantelle.rees@swwmedia.co.uk

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32715/f/503366/s/14570973/l/0L0Sthisissouthwales0O0Cnews0Ctown0Eparty0Edrugs0Eshock0Carticle0E34739870Edetail0Carticle0Bhtml/story01.htm

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