Warning over new 'lethal batch' of Pregabalin circulating in Derry

The mother of a Derry girl who died after taking pregabalin during a spate of deaths linked to a contaminated batch of the drugs says the PSNI failed to listen to her warnings.

Pauline Duddy, mother of Jasmine, fears there is another ‘lethal batch’ of the drug that took her daughter's life circulating in the city.

Ms Duddy said she got a warning about the batch from and rang the PSNI to see if they could put out a warning but they did not.

She said the person she spoke to only cared about who she got her information from and not about warning the public.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police work hard every day to keep people safe, and have a clear focus on the risk and harm resulting from the sale and supply of drugs.

"When we receive reports and gather evidence in relation to the sale and supply of drugs, we will investigate and work to identify suspects. Where suspects are identified every effort is made to place those individuals before the courts.

"As well as being a criminal justice matter, drug use represents a significant public health issue and, so, we work in tandem with other statutory agencies to ensure the public understand the risks and dangers involved in obtaining and using illicit drugs.

“We recognise that drug use can be a reflection of underlying societal problems, and that law enforcement is only one aspect of a collaborative response and therefore we work with a huge range of partners. Information from the public is crucial in helping us tackle the scourge of drugs and effectively focus our efforts on identifying and removing those who supply drugs from our streets. Information can be given directly to police by calling 101 or online.”

Alternatively, the charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org

Meanwhile, Ms Duddy is set to look for signatures for her 'stop the street drugs' petition outside Derry Court on Monday at 12.00pm.

The petition aims to get 'the law changed for drug dealers to be prosecuted with murder'.

“It's the last bail hearings for these offenders before Christmas. We need to get our voices heard here. We're not getting our kids home for Christmas,” Ms Duddy said.

“[Convicted drug dealers] are putting in bail applications in for Christmas. If us as mothers who have lost children to drugs over the years put applications before the court will we get our children home?

“If there's no fairness, there's no justice. I wrote that to the Chief Justice.”

Pauline said she is not satisfied with the amount of signatures she has received so far.

“There are 2,000 signatures on paper and 3,173 online. It's not good. Everybody needs to sign this. Nothing is going to change unless we get the signatures. There are young people losing their lives, more young people are going to die. It's everybody's problem.

“It really saddens me that people aren't getting involved in this. I'm not getting anything out of this. My child's gone. There is no gain in this for me whatsoever. My child's not coming home. If it stops circulation in the town and across the North and keeps young people alive it's worth it.

“I'm begging everybody, even if they can only show up for five minutes on Monday, just to turn up, let our voices be heard and let the judicial system know we're not accepting drugs in our society anymore.”

Ms Duddy emailed Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan to ask what she is 'prepared to do to stop the drug carnage in Northern Ireland?' and to urge judges to automatically impose maximum sentences on dealers.

While the judge did respond to the email, Ms Duddy was not satisfied with her answer. She claims the judge did not answer that central question.

“I emailed her and told her what our position is, that with these young people dying they need to enforce the maximum sentencing in the courts, which stand at 14 years for Class A, Class B or Class C,” Ms Duddy said.

The Lady Chief Justice told Ms Duddy they cannot automatically impose the maximum sentence in a case. They are required to consider the specific circumstances in each case.

Ms Duddy was also told that Judges are guided by the sentencing guidelines in the area, and much depends on how responsible the offender is in regards to their level of involvement, the circumstances of the supply, its scale, frequency, duration, the sums of money involved and the offender’s previous record together with his or her individual circumstances.

Ms Duddy believes this 'doesn't matter' because if a dealer 'is selling one tablet or 100 tablets they're still dealing'.

She added that the Lady Chief Justice said judges take their responsibilities very seriously. Ms Duddy said she doesn't believe they do.

“In Northern Ireland they're giving maybe two years tops for a crime they would give eight years for in England.

“I've sent the Lady Chief Justice two more emails since I got that response. I said thanks for taking the time to answer me even though you haven't answered our question. Our question was simple: as the highest judge in Northern Ireland, what is she prepared to do to stop the drug carnage in Northern Ireland?”

She said she has yet to receive a response to her latest emails.

The Lady Chief Justice's office issued a statement to Derry News when asked about Ms Duddy's question.

“This office can confirm that all emails received from Ms Duddy have been responded to by this office,” a representative said.

“The dangers posed by drugs cut across multiple disciplines and it is not solely for the judiciary to address.”

Pauline has lodged a complaint with the Police Ombudsman about the PSNI investigation into her daughter’s death.