IT’S already ten days since the tragic occurrence in East La Penitence when five persons ingested cocaine-laced SSS Tonic and four of them died, but to date, no one has been charged. 

However, the police are working feverishly to bring justice to the families of the deceased.
On Monday, May 4, two persons were taken into custody just after the incident, but they were released the following day.
In the meantime, the police have been hunting for two others, but there are no arrests as yet.
According to a senior officer, the police are trying to catch the person(s) responsible for the tragedy, and they will continue to investigate the matter until it is solved.

The four who died after ingesting the ‘builder’ laced with liquefied cocaine were Alex Blair, 42, Simone Pryce, 36, along with their child Jahaquel Blair, 7, and their best friend, Natasha George, 36, all of Cocorite Street, East La Penitence, Georgetown.

Twelve-year-old Jamal Waterman, the lone survivor, had been hospitalised for a while after ingesting the same tonic.

The tonic and some foodstuff had been packed to be shipped to New York, but was left behind after a family member said she would be travelling to Pennsylvania instead of New York.

After the items were left behind, the family then decided to use the products, unaware that cocaine was diluted in the liquid multivitamin supplement.

According to police investigations so far, the bottle of tonic, along with casareep and ‘chicken foot’ had been left at the house by a man known to the family. It was intended for a female guest from overseas to take with her when she was returning to the USA. That guest, however, did not carry the items, and the victims consumed some of the SSS Tonic which had been left in their possession.

(By Asif Hakim)