BPS find new ‘party drug’ in bust

Published 5:49 pm Friday, July 19, 2013

Drug Bust 1

Bainbridge Public Safety investigators are concerned that a new “party drug” may have found its way to this area, after doses of it were found during a Friday morning drug bust.

Terrell Vashoun White, 33, of 527 S. Monroe St., Bainbridge, was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of MDMA (ecstasy) with intent to distribute.

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For the past two weeks, BPS investigators have been looking into a tip that illegal drugs were allegedly being sold from the residence at 527 S. Monroe St., BPS Investigator Mark Esquivel said. Finally, BPS had enough information to apply for a search warrant and after receiving it, a number of officers showed up at the house at around 10 a.m. to execute the warrant.

Inside the house, officers found a quantity of suspected marijuana inside small plastic baggies, as well as digital scales and other items commonly used to package drugs for re-sale, Esquivel said. They also found a large sum of currency.

But more notably, officers found what they believe to be doses of a designer drug called a “Molly.” Mollies are a mix of ecstasy and either methamphetamine or caffeine.

MDMA, an abbreviation for ecstasy’s scientific name, acts as both a stimulant and psychedelic, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Drug Bust 2

“Ecstasy is reported to give users a euphoric high, and also enhances their sense of touch,” Esquivel said. “When you add caffeine, or meth — which can make you stay up for two or three nights in a row — a powerful stimulant is created.”

Mollies are packaged differently than ecstasy, which is normally distributed as colored tablets.

Mollies are actually clear pill capsules that have been emptied of whatever they originally contained, and filled with a new mixture of drugs, usually MDMA and meth, which can come in a crystallized form or a powder, Esquivel said. In its crystallized form, the base substance of mollies is called “moon rocks.”

On Friday, officers found mollies ready for sale, as well as the raw materials used for making doses, including empty pill capsules.

“We have reason to believe that there is more than one person that has distributed mollies in our area in the recent past,” Esquivel said. “The dangerous aspect of this drug is that it’s not like marijuana, which is grown. People actually have to mix stuff together and they can put whatever they want into it, so you don’t really know what you’re getting. Drugs like this can affect people in different ways.”

Esquivel said the investigation is still ongoing and more charges could follow.

Officers participating in Friday’s bust were Major Robert Humphrey, Captain Mark Esquivel, investigators Anthony Stubbs, Chip Nix and Ryan Deen; Major Doyle Welch, Sgt. Eddie Williams and BPS officers Ken Williams, Tim Mixon and Greg Brown.