On 25 November 2014 two

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

tourists aged 20 and 21 died in a hotel room in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, after snorting white

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

that was sold as

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

by a street dealer. The bodies were found less than a month after another British tourist died in similar circumstances. At least 17 other people have had medical treatment after taking the white heroin. Health authorities in Amsterdam are warning of the dangerous drugs being sold. Large signs were set up at popular tourist locations in the city. An award of €15,000 is offered for tips about the dealer of the drugs. On 20 January 2015 the last warning signs were removed from the city as there had been no further incidents. In the night of 25 February 2015, three Danish tourists became unwell after using white heroin, but left the hospital later. The police spread video material of the alleged seller. The warning signs returned in the streets in Amsterdam and flyers and posters were deployed at crucial places in the city. People could also test their drugs at 30 sites in the city. The man who sold the drugs in February 2015 was Flip S. from Amsterdam. In court there was not enough evidence that he was also the dealer of the drugs causing the other incidents. There was no evidence he sold the drugs to harm people. In February 2016, he was sentenced to one year in prison for dealing drugs and not taking proper precautions like testing his drugs beforehand.

Aftermath

The weekend after the two British men died, a minute's silence was held by thirty-seven amateur football matches in the Novahomes Plymouth and West Devon Combination league in honour of the two. Neither has been named by the Foreign Office following a request from their families. One of their old clubs, Plymouth Falcons, postponed their upcoming match with Plymouth Spurs.

Controversy

Drugs expert Adam Winstock proposed that the drug dealer had murdered the buyers.Drugs expert claims rogue dealer caused Amsterdam deaths
BBC.co.uk He mentioned that the street price of white heroin is three times the price of cocaine, which makes the scenario of a drug dealer, a person driven by the desire of profit, very unlikely to have accidentally substituted heroin for cocaine once, and much less so multiple times for more than two months.

References

{{reflist *Amsterdam drug Amsterdam drug deaths Drug deaths, 2014 Accidental deaths in the Netherlands British victims of crime Deaths by heroin overdose Drug-related deaths in the Netherlands Tourism in Amsterdam Amsterdam drug deaths Amsterdam drug deaths Amsterdam drug deaths Recreational drug tourism

Aftermath

Controversy

See also

References