Teen's fake pills shame
A TEENAGER who thought he had been caught with a bag full of Ecstasy tablets has been sentenced to two years in custody even though he later discovered his stash was nothing more than legal drugs.
Samuel Clarke thought he had bought a £50 bag containing 90 of the 'illegal' pills and held his hands up when confronted by police at a Swansea nightclub.
But tests later showed the pills were actually a stimulant legally available in the UK.
Despite the pills being legal, Clarke appeared at Swansea Crown Court yesterday to admit attempting to possess a Class A drug with the intention of supplying it to other people.
Nineteen-year-old Clarke, of Underwood Road, Cadoxton, Neath, has been sent to a young offenders' institution for two years by Recorder Andrew Keyser QC.
Robin Rouch, prosecuting, said that on the evening of March 29 Clarke was subjected to a routine search as he went into Escape in Northampton Lane.
Door staff discovered the tablets in a bag in the waistband of his jeans.
When he was arrested, Clarke said the pills were Ecstasy and he had bought them earlier that evening for £50.
He told detectives he had been using Ecstasy since the age of 13 and on the night in question he would have consumed six or seven tablets.
During a police interview, he claimed he would not have sold Ecstasy inside the nightclub — but he might have given some to a relative.
Mr Rouch said scientific tests subsequently showed that the seized pills were not in fact Ecstasy.
They were a substance called Piperazine, said the barrister. It was not a controlled drug, but it had stimulant effects similar to those of amphetamine.
Mr Rouch said Piperazine was regarded as an Ecstasy substitute and sometimes called Legal E.
Sentencing, the judge said custody was unavoidable. The serious feature of the case was that Clarke had tried to possess a Class A drug with the intention of supplying it.
6 Comments
by david, swansea
Friday, October 24 2008, 7:23PM
“As far as i can see the only reason he was charged with intent to supply was because he admitted he was going to give some to a relative.
I think the main issue here is that he's a silly boy as it just goes to show no-one knows what they are actually buying. Kids these days who get involved with taking drugs to have a good time should learn from this. No wonder he (foolishly) could take so many if they weren't actually the real thing.”
by don, swansea
Friday, October 24 2008, 10:54AM
“Piperazine... used to treat worm infections in the intestines.”
by bob, swansea
Thursday, October 23 2008, 8:08PM
“he did not know what he was buying , lucky they were not poisonous and killed someone if he dished them out , he deserves what he gets the idiot”
by Gaynor, Swansea
Thursday, October 23 2008, 6:39PM
“Don't forget that crime against old age pensioners can be caused by people who take drugs to fund their habit as they are an easy target. Jailing this young man may make him think carefully in the future what his actions could cause.”
by daveinuplands, Uplands
Thursday, October 23 2008, 2:15PM
“This lad has not committed a crime and should not therefore have been locked up. You cannot be charged with the intent to supply illegal drugs if you haven¿t got any on you surely? The judge was completely wrong taking a moral stand point as no crime had been committed. It¿s like someone going out with the intention of murder then hitting that person with a large foam hammer and then getting banged up for life.
Then there is the argument over whether taking ecstasy should be a criminal offence. Recent surveys say that is less dangerous than alcohol (which is inked to violence, drink driving etc) and tobacco (which accounts for 40% of all hospital illness). The only reason ecstasy is dangerous is because of the dodgy substances that are put in them and that¿s only because they are illegal in the first place. Infact MDMA has been shown in clinical studies to have only a mildly addictive effect and has been shown to lift mood and improves personal communications.
So let this guy out and throw away the key to violent attackers. The likes that me and my partner I have seen out about recently that have robbed old age pensioners and beaten them to an inch of their lives. Seems that justice completely sucks in this country!”
by Rob, Swansea
Thursday, October 23 2008, 10:45AM
“What a dolt! The criminal brain in action.”