A Nigerian-born student identified as Damilola Grace Olakanmi has passed on after she was said to have consumed cannabis sweets in the United Kingdom.
The University of Hertfordshire business law undergraduate, 23, was said to have bought the “gummies” via a messaging app on her phone and they were delivered to her home.
Olakanmi and a 21-year-old friend immediately fell ill at their home in South Park Drive, Ilford at 11:30 pm on March 29.
According to Evening Standard, the pair ate the sweets that came in packaging branded “Trrlli Peachie O’s”.
Olakanmi was taken by air ambulance to Queen’s Hospital, Romford in critical condition.
It was gathered that doctors later discharged Olakanmi’s friend — who happens to be a student from the United States visiting the UK — from the hospital.
Richard Taylor, a justice campaigner and relative, consoled Wunmi, the student’s mother, who kept a vigil by her daughter’s bedside as she fought for her life in an east London hospital, where she died on Saturday.
Taylor told the Standard;
Wumi has lost her only child – she has nothing now. They had to hold her up because she broke down every time a friend came to the house to give support. It’s a tragic warning to all young people about how they live their lives. They should resist drugs. Damilola was a promising young woman who should be looking forward to her future and having children of her own. She was studying law.
A relative, named only as Dunni, added the family were demanding answers.
She said;
Damilola was a sweet, quiet girl – a bit of an introvert. Her mother looked up to her. She was very kind and loved looking after children and wanted to please everyone. The family will never come to terms with this. We need to know what happened. Her mother is not young any more.
We don’t want Damilola’s memory to be just like that. You want her to be remembered as the girl who asked everyone, ‘Are you okay and do you want anything?’.
Leon Brown, 37, of South Norwood, was arrested in connection with the incident on Friday.
He was subsequently charged with possession with intent to supply Class B synthetic cannabinoid, being concerned in the supply of a synthetic cannabinoid, and possession with intent to supply a psychoactive substance.
Officers have issued a warning over the sweets and said a number have been recovered and are being tested.
UK Metropolitan Police said the case may be linked to another incident in March where a woman was taken to hospital after eating a cannabis sweet in Tower Hamlets.
She has since been discharged but an inquiry is under way to establish whether they came from the same batch involved in Ms Olakanmi’s death.
Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell, of the Met’s East Area Basic Command Unit, said;
I must warn the public against taking any illegal substances, including those packaged in the form of cannabis sweets. Please do not buy or consume these products. They are illegal and, because of the child-friendly packaging, they can pose a risk of accidental consumption.
The particular batch of sweets were contained in packaging featuring Trrlli Peachie O’s branding. It has not been confirmed at this stage where the sweets were manufactured.
He stressed;
Drug dealers harm communities and risk the safety of individuals. We will take positive action to target those engaged in this activity as well as those found in possession of these substances. Anyone with information about people selling illegal products such as these is asked to speak with local officers, call police on 101 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crimestoppers.
A special post-mortem examination will be arranged in due course, the Met said.
