How sinister armed gangs are selling KIDS vapes spiked with deadly zombie spice drug on Snapchat
AT 6am, officers from Greater Manchester Police burst through the door of the red-brick house.
Shouts of 'Police!' echo through the quiet street as they enter the property, searching for the man they suspect of selling deadly vapes to kids via phone app Snapchat.
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Ash Griffiths, 14, collapsed after puffing on a vape laced with zombie drug spice earlier this month
Credit: Dan Griffiths
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Synthetic cannabis in sweetie-style packs to entice kids - and a lethal-looking blade
Credit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvin Media
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Weapons and drugs seized in Greater Manchester raids
Credit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvin Media
They find Omar Abu-Sharkh, 20, at home in Moorside, Oldham — thousands of e-cigs, empty refill bottles and five-litre vats of lethal synthetic drug spice littering the house, along with a machete.
He is cuffed, read his rights and bundled into a police van.
Cops are hopeful they have smashed the operation.
But hours later, the dangerous vapes — touted as containing THC, the psychoactive substance found in cannabis — are for sale again online, tempting kids with popular Tango Ice Blast and Haribo flavours, plus refill vials as big as 200ml.
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The terrifying truth, however, is that these
'We are watching'
Callous dealers often
target
kids with popular flavours, and experts fear children will die if they buy a vape containing the potentially deadly chemical mix.
Police resume their search for the crooks operating the Snapchat channel and, three warrants later, thanks to the dedicated work of two specially trained digital officers, they find the first suspect's accomplices and shut it down for good.
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Team leader Detective Sergeant John Schofield told The Sun: 'While we can't say they were deliberately targeting teens, the nature of the packaging, brands, flavours, and use of Snapchat all attract a younger customer.
'For example, Tango Ice Blast flavour is what you'd get your kids at the cinema for a slushy. They were actively choosing flavours that are popular with children.
Disposable vapes will be banned across UK by next summer to stop Britain's kids from getting hooked
'These online criminals think they're not being noticed as much because they are not out on the street dealing.
'They can just run it from their bedroom, so they don't feel as visible.
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'They've got a certain amount of arrogance, but we are watching — and we do find them.'
These online criminals think they're not being noticed as much because they are not out on the street dealing
Detective Sergeant John Schofield
At
court
in March this year, Abu-Sharkh pleaded guilty to supplying class B drugs THC and synthetic cannabinoids.
Qais Rasul, 20, and Mohammed Jalal Aftab, 20, both also from Oldham, admitted the same crimes.
During one of the raids, Sufiaan Ali, 20, of Oldham, hurled a missile.
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He later pleaded guilty to possession of a readily convertible firearm as well as the drugs charge. All four men are due to be sentenced
next
week at Manchester crown court.
Dan Griffiths, 40, from South Shields, has seen first-hand the damage spice vapes can cause after his 14-year-old son Ash smoked one earlier this month — and collapsed.
'Ash had no idea what was in it,' Dan revealed. 'After a couple of puffs, he collapsed, and his friends were standing there laughing at his reaction.
'Thankfully, a passing nurse saw it and called an ambulance.
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'I ran across the estate to get to him. I was worried out of my mind.
'Seeing Ash pass out in the back of the ambulance left me terrified. I had no idea what would happen.
'Since then, he's had six seizures, and we're constantly in and out of the hospital. It's changed his life forever.'
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Detective Sergeant John Schofield with vials of synthetic cannabis
Credit: Andy Kelvin / Kelvin Media
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A man slumped in the streets - showing the signs of taking spice
Credit: Alamy
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Since smoking a spiked vape, Ash has suffered six seizures and now faces a life changed forever
Credit: NNP
Dealers go to great lengths to meddle with the ingredients in legitimate vapes. The Manchester gang were opening e-cig liquids, removing some, then topping them up to full using spice from China.
Other vape bottles they made up themselves with a mix of legitimate liquid and the imported contraband.
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In a bid to keep their profits out of police hands, Aftab and Ali swapped cash into gold bars and hid them in safety deposit boxes, which cops need an extra warrant to access.
Fellow crook Abu-Sharkh had gold coins at home to protect his earnings from the criminal enterprise.
Spice is a group name for
Last year, researchers from Bath University found one in six vapes confiscated in schools was laced with spice, which can cause heart attacks, seizures and psychotic episodes.
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They tested 596 vapes confiscated from schools in England.
Professor Chris Pudney, who carried out the research, said: 'You find spice in three places — prisons, homeless communities and schools.
'They all share the characteristics of having vulnerable people in their population.'
On the haul found by Greater Manchester Police, Prof Pudney added: 'If you search for THC vapes on Instagram or TikTok, you will see the same kinds of images. The thing I have not seen before is the labelling with the 'flavours'.
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'It points to a development in the distribution strategy and, as already noted, towards a younger age group.'
The study also found only one in 100 vapes contained THC.
'Collapse at school'
Genuine THC vapes will smell like cannabis and have a gel-like consistency, instead of being odourless and water-like.
Spiked vapes have caused hundreds of teens across the country to collapse, with many not realising that they are
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Ben Davies
, the headteacher at St Ambrose Barlow RC High School in Salford, has witnessed the havoc that illegally doctored vapes can cause in teenagers attending his school.
Spice is neurotoxic and can often lead to seizures. It also can have profound effects on the heart... even in young, fit people
Helen Wall, GP
'We've seen kids being given what they think is an innocent, over- the-counter vape, and it contains synthetic cannabinoids or something else,' Ben said.
'Illegal vaping itself is a worry, but with the spiked vapes, we've had children collapse at school and had to call the ambulance. We've had hallucinations, dissociation, collapse, palpitations, all those sorts of things.
'There are symptoms that are sometimes similar to a panic attack, but they are much more severe.
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'What troubles me is how easily the children can get access to these vapes, often in some really sinister ways. And we have no idea what is in any of the vapes either — there's no way to really know.'
Explaining why spice is dangerous for children and teenagers to use, GP Helen Wall said: 'Spice can cause severe anxiety, paranoia and hallucinations. Psychosis can often occur, leading to violence and risk-taking behaviour.
'Spice is neurotoxic and can often lead to seizures. It also can have profound effects on the heart. Heart rate can be elevated, leading to high blood pressure, chest pain and heart attacks, even in young, fit people.
'Sudden cardiac death has been linked to spice.
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'
'Despite all of these nasty effects, individuals quickly gain psychological and physical dependence on the drug — more so than with cannabis. The withdrawal symptoms can be profound.
'Teens getting into spice are more likely to drop out of school, fail exams, become socially isolated and get involved in violent and risk-taking behaviours.
Read more on the Irish Sun
'Teenage brains are still developing, particularly the prefrontal cortex responsible for decision-making and impulse control.
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'Spice interferes with this process, potentially leading to long-term thought and emotional consequences.'
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Crooks Omar Abu-Sharkh and Qais Rasul, both 20
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Drug criminals Jalal Aftab and Sufiaan Ali, both 20
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Cops warn that children buying vapes can have no idea what is in the product
Credit: Getty
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What are the new vape laws?
Ministers have pledged to crackdown on poorly regulated vapes and e-cigarettes following an explosion in the number of teenagers who use them.
New rules for manufacturers and shopkeepers are expected to come into force in 2025.
They are set to include:
Higher tax rates paid on vapes increase the price and make it harder for children to afford them
A ban on single-use vapes in favour of devices that can be recharged
A ban on colourful and cartoonish packaging that may appeal to youngsters
Tighter controls on flavourings and a ban on unnecessarily sweet or child-friendly ones like bubblegum and candy
More regulation on how and where they are displayed in shops, potentially putting them out of sight
Harsher penalties for shops caught selling them to under-18s
The ban on disposable vapes is part of ambitious government plans to tackle the rise in youth vaping.
A report published by Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) found 20.5 per cent of children in the UK had tried vaping in 2023, up from 15.8 per cent in 2022 and 13.9 per cent in 2020.
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Shocking moment Ferne McCann's acid attacker ex Arthur Collins is filmed being INJECTED in bum with drugs in jail cell
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Advertisement They added he was hopeful of having his status lowered to Category D, which could clear him for a move to an open jail. Collins started dating former Towie star Ferne in 2016 but she dumped him after the acid attack. 7 CCTV footage from inside the club during acid attack Credit: Collect She had visited him in jail and revealed she told him: 'This is the last time you will see either of us. You have ruined our lives.' Advertisement Ferne was eliminated second from the most recent series of Dancing on Ice. She starred in ITV show My Family & Me with fiancé We are seeing in prisons the failures of the government's pledges to crack down coming home to roost Conservative MP Alec Shelbrooke Her other TV credits include coming third in 2015's I'm A Celebrity. Tory MP Alec Shelbrooke said yesterday: 'The fact that mobile phones and drugs are readily available in jails shows a breakdown at the top of the prison system, which people need to get a grip on. Advertisement 'We are seeing in prisons the failures of the government's pledges to crack down coming home to roost.' And 'These problems could easily be stopped. If a prisoner is caught with something like a smuggled phone or drugs they could be put in solitary for six months and have no visitors. 'If any drones are spotted on the grounds, lock down the prison for a week or two. But successive governments have turned a blind eye.' Advertisement A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'The availability of drugs and other illicit items in prisons is yet more evidence of the crisis this Government inherited. We have an additional invested £10million on anti-drone measures to help us seize more contraband and have a specialist team to bear down on drugs and serious and organised crime. 'We have also created restricted fly zones around prisons, and are collaborating with police to tackle the growing illegal use of drones around prisons.' 7 Collins' 2017 attack, where he hurled acid across in an East London nightclub, left 16 people with serious burns Credit: PA:Press Association 7 Collins was recently switched from The Mount Prison — where the footage was taken — amid fears he was plotting to import drugs using drones Credit: Getty - Contributor Advertisement Ferne tot shock for nightclub acid thug By Michael Hamilton TOWIE'S Ferne McCann told thug Arthur Collins she was having his child two weeks before he threw acid across a nightclub and then went on the run from police. The scaffolder, 32, was jailed for 20 years in 2017 for the attack in Mangle E8, Dalston, East London. He left 16 people with serious burns after getting into a row with a group of men. Collins was arrested in his underpants by armed officers a week later at a house in Higham Ferrers, Northants. Three women gave court evidence and Collins was convicted of five counts of GBH and nine of ABH. Ferne dumped Collins following the attack. In a statement, she said she would raise their child alone and she was 'focusing on being the best mother she can be'. Collins got eight months added to his sentence in 2018 for using a smuggled phone to call her from prison. Ferne is now engaged to entrepreneur Lorri Haines and they have a daughter. The lag also struck up a relationship with ex-glamour model Annie Bullah, who was seen visiting him in jail but they later called it off.
