Gardaí are reexamining the death of a man in Tullamore last week after two women died in a hostel in the town over the weekend.
Angela Kelly (44) died at a Clonamore House Hotel on Sunday. Three other people fell ill soon afterwards and one, identified as 19-year-old Amy Mannix, died on Monday.
The two others, both male, have been hospitalised and one remains in a critical condition.
Gardaí believe the women’s deaths may be linked to a batch of fake anti-anxiety drugs which was purchased online. It is understood a batch of medication purporting to be Xanax was purchased in recent days and distributed to drug users in the town.
However, Garda sources stress they are awaiting the results of postmortems and toxicology tests before coming to a conclusion.
There is now suspicion that the death of a 30-year-old man on April 22nd may be connected to the deaths of the two women.
Emergency services were called when the man, who was residing in a different hostel to the women, became ill. He died shortly afterwards.
“A postmortem was carried out and gardaí are awaiting toxicology results to determine the course of their investigation. His death is not thought to be Covid-related,” a Garda spokesman said. “The local coroner has been notified and enquiries are ongoing.”
Gardaí are examining packaging at the scene of the deaths over the weekend which may have contained the drugs.
Gardaí say there has been a significant increase in the purchase of drugs from the internet in recent weeks as coronavirus shuts down more traditional ways of obtaining them. Difficulties in obtaining drugs have also led users to search for substitutes which they may not be used to, according to drug workers.
Ms Kelly, Ms Mannix and the two people in hospital are known to each other but it is not known if they had any connection to the man who died last Wednesday.
In a statement, gardaí confirmed officers were called to Clonamore House Hotel on Sunday where a 44-year-old woman was in an unresponsive condition. She was pronounced dead at the scene and her body was removed to Tullamore Hospital for a postmortem examination.
Emergency services were then called to the hostel to treat Ms Mannix. She was also pronounced dead at the scene and removed to hospital.
While Ms Mannix was receiving attention at the hostel, a 23-year-old man became unresponsive and was taken to hospital. His condition is understood to be critical. Another man, aged 32, who had become concerned, attended hospital and his condition is described as non-life threatening.
A report released on Monday by the Health Research Board, the Ana Liffey Drug Project and UCC said increasing numbers of people are buying tablets such as Xanax and Valium online from "pharmacies" which do not require prescriptions and are not regulated.
These websites are available on the surface web meaning minimal computer knowledge is required to access them. Analysis of these medications shows many are far too strong or not strong enough compared to the official brands.
