RN veteran death: five held on drug charges

Tuesday 31 december 2013 Five people have been arrested on suspicion of drugs offences in connection with the death of a Royal Navy veteran who died after drinking a pear drink laced with cocaine.

Joromie lewis, 33, of Hampshire, became ill immediately after drinking the pear fruit drink, which contained a lethal amount of the drug.

His death on 5 December led the Food standards agency to issue an alert to all local authorities to contact retailers to withdraw any bottles of Pear D from their shelves.

Detectives believe the drink may have been used by drug smugglers to import cocaine into the country in a liquid form.

Hampshire Police have arrested four men and a woman, all aged in their 30s, who have since been bailed until april pending further inquiries.

Detective superintendent Dick Pearson said: “This is a complex investigation covering the circumstances surrounding Mr lewis’s death, as well as the drug trafficking offences.”

The details of the arrests come as a private family funeral was being held for Mr lewis in his home town.

Mr lewis consumed the drink in southampton on 5 December and died within hours at southampton General Hospital.

a Hampshire Police spokesman said that one of its lines of inquiries was that the drink had been used to smuggle cocaine into the UK in a liquid form.

The investigation is continuing and they are awaiting toxicology results to establish an exact cause of death.

Police have established the bottle of Cole Cold Pear D fruit drink was manufactured in the Caribbean and the company did not export this drink to the UK.

Mr lewis’ widow, Jayrusha lewis, said in a statement released after his death that her husband was a “selfless and devoted family man”.

she said: “Joromie lewis was a Royal Navy veteran, originally from st vincent and the Grenadines.”