No drugs please: Police keep an eye on Facebook parties

Police are becoming extra vigilant over so-called “Facebook parties” following complaints of illicit drug use by party-goers.

On more than six occasions so far this year, police have stormed parties organised via Facebook following tip-offs that drugs were used by revellers. Several people have also been arrested on charges of possessing illegal drugs.

The latest such incident was reported last Sunday. In that incident, area residents near a hotel at Durekkanda, in Malwala, Ratnapura called police after a car driven by a party-goer collided with a vilalger's trishaw. The youth who drove the car had allegedly behaved in an unruly manner after the accident, making people suspect he was under the influence of some drug.

Ratnapura Police Headquarters Inspector K.A. Udaya Kumara told the Sunday Times that police took 37 people who were at the hotel into custody, including the hotel manager. Twelve among those taken into custody were women. Two of the youths were found to be in possession of drugs. One had four grams of Kerala Ganja and 530 milligrams of ICE while the other had four ecstasy pills known among party goers as “Dancing Tablets”. Except for these two suspects, the others were released on police bail on condition that they should present themselves in the police station when notified to do so. The two young men who were arrested for drug possession were produced in the Ratnapura Chief Magistrate’s Court, where both pleaded guilty. The youth who had Kerala Ganja and ICE in his possession was fined Rs 14,000 while the one who had the ecstasy pills in his possession was fined Rs 5,000. They are residents of Wattala and Kalutara.

Inspector Udaya Kumara said all those who were at the party were not from the Ratnapura area and had travelled to the hotel from areas such as Colombo, Kalutara, Wadduwa, Ja-Ela and Wattala following an invitation to attend the party organised via Facebook. After presenting a B Report to courts, a blood sample of the youth involved in the road accident was submitted to the Ratnpura General Hospital to determine if he was under the influence of some drug. Police are awaiting the results.

Concern over suspected drug use at these so-called Facebook parties was again heightened after four young men died under still mysterious circumstances at one such party held at a hotel in Wadduwa in August. The Panadura Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) delivered an open verdict on the deaths of the individuals. Samples of their blood, urine and tissues were sent to the Government Analyst’s Department for toxicology tests, but the results have still not come, officials said.

While there is concern that synthetic drugs such as ‘Ecstasy,’ ‘Crystal Meth,’ ‘ICE,’ ‘Ketamine’ and ‘LSD’ are becoming more widespread, the authorities insist that they still represent only a small portion of illicit drugs in the country. Just over 5 kilograms of Methamphetamines, which includes drugs such as Crystal Meth and ICE, have been seized by the authorities from January 1 up until the end of August this year. There have been 91 arrests for methamphetamine possession during the same period. Heroin and cannabis continue to be the major drugs that the law enforcement authorities are focused on. Nevertheless, accusations that drugs are being distributed and used in parties organised via social media have resulted in police taking additional measures to prevent such incidents.

Accordingly, the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) has started random checks on those who attend such Facebook parties. PNB Director T.C.A. Dhanapala said that when they received a tip-off regarding such parties, PNB officers, along with those from the area police, would carry out random checks near the party venue. “If 500 people are attending the party, we will perhaps check 50 of them at random,” SSP Dhanapala said. Party organisers are also briefed on the importance of conducting such events free from drugs. The PNB director said that, as such random checks were being carried out, even the event organisers were now taking extra precautions to ensure that no drugs come into the party venues. “We have even seen some put in a tagline saying ‘No Drugs Allowed’ when announcing these parties,” he remarked.

Additional reporting by Apsara

Wijesuriya in Ratnapura