DRUG users in Seaton have been ripped-off - after police tests revealed what the substances they bought really contained.

Police have discovered many people caught in possession had paid for a substance which contained a small percentage of drugs they thought they were buying, or another drug all together.

An offender was arrested and cautioned for possession of cocaine in December last year. But when the substance was tested, it was found to contain only 0.01g of the Class A drug.

Sergeant Richard Stonecliffe said: “I would like to remind people who are considering using such drugs that they can never be sure of the quality of the product they are buying.

“Repeatedly we encounter users who have bought drugs that either contain very little of the drug they expected or a different drug completely.

“Using drugs is not only illegal, but people are not getting what they pay for. They are effectively getting ripped-off.

Aside from the dangers of using drugs, people could be putting their health further at risk if drugs are mixed with other chemicals.

Sgt Stonecliffe added: “Whilst many of these drugs are cut or mixed with inert substances, users can never be sure that the drugs are safe.” Following a police operation at a rave at The Grove nightclub in March, four people were cautioned for possession of drugs for personal.

A 21 year-old was caught with five tablets of Class A drug 2CB, a 20-year-old was found with three tablets of Class B drugs BZP and TFMPP, another 20-year-old was found with Class C ketamine and a 25-year-old was caught with Class C BZP and TFMPP. All four live outside of Devon.

Sgt Stonecliffe added: “Whilst the amount of drugs concerned in these cases are small, we will continue to target and prosecute people who use illegal drugs in Seaton.”

* BZP (bennzylpiperazine) and TFMPP (trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine) are usually mixed together and sold as the legal alternative to ‘ecstasy’. Side effects can include epilectic fits or seizures, insomnia, anxiety and headaches.

*2CB is often used at the peak of an ecstasy trip or on its own and sometimes is sold as E, even though the effects have been described as different. At higher doses, 2CB can lead to hallucinations. It can increase feelings of depression.