German police have issued a warning over a potentially lethal “Blue Punisher” ecstasy pill in circulation after the death of two teenage girls was linked to the drug.
Police in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg Western Pomerania said that a 13-year-old girl from the town of Altentreptow had died in hospital after taking one of the blue pills.
The pill features a skull logo associated with the Marvel comic book character The Punisher.
Two other teenagers, aged 14 and 15, were also hospitalised after taking the drug, police said. A 37-year-old German man has been detained in connection with the girl's death.
It comes as authorities in the neighboring state of Brandenburg continue to investigate the death of a 15-year-old girl who died in the town of Rathenow over the weekend after a suspected narcotics overdose.
Prosecutors say an autopsy will determine whether she, too, died after consuming the drug.
“We warn against any consumption of narcotics, but especially the dangerous ‘Blue Punisher’ pill,” Neubrandenburg police said in a statement. “These pills have a very high dose of (the chemical) MDMA.”
It added that even half a pill, which is in circulation in the region, could cause life-threatening illness.
A total of 67 deaths were recorded as a result of MDMA in 2021 in England and Wales, according to the most recently released figures from Statista. This was a drop on the figure of 82 the previous year.
Drugs charities have previously warned that “super-strength MDMA” pills are increasingly prevalent in Europe due to supply chain issues. Pills have been recovered at UK festivals containing 250mg of MDMA - more than three times the average dose.
The Home Office faced criticism last week from leading festival organisers for allegedly blocking on-site drug testing at music festivals, which seeks to reduce the harm of taking ecstacy and other drugs.
Parklife festival, in Manchester, said it was unable to test confiscated pills for the first time since 2014 because the Home Office claimed they needed to apply for a special licence, the Guardian reported.
The drugs are tested in a cabin on site, with “push notifications” sent to festivalgoers if tests show they are deemed a threat to health.
