TWO British women remained in the hospital in serious condition tonight after drinking aloe vera juice contaminated with ketamine.
Police were investigating how the party drug came to be inside bottles of the Gayatri brand drink in shops in Leicester, central England.
One store’s shelves were cleared of the stock, and police were investigating whether it was being sold anywhere else in the city.
A 60-year-old woman collapsed soon after drinking the juice. She complained of a burning sensation in her throat.
Her daughter, who asked not to be named, told local newspaper the Leicester Mercury: “I thought she was going to die.
“My dad was crying as the paramedics were trying to revive her. It was awful. She was basically in a vegetative state. They thought she might have bleeding on the brain. I thought ‘that’s it.'”
Another woman was taken to the hospital on Friday with similar symptoms. Her family took in the same brand of drink as the previous patient, which was when doctors raised the alarm.
The UK’s Health Protection Agency confirmed the drinks contained ketamine, which acts as an anesthetic and can cause serious damage.
A spokeswoman said, “If anyone has a bottle, don’t drink it, take it to a police station. If anyone has drunk the juice, they should seek medical advice.”
A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Police said: “Police are working with the Health Protection Agency to look into how the drinks, consumed by the two women, came to be potentially contaminated.
“Inquiries are in their early stages, and police are keeping an open mind as to the circumstances of this incident.”
When contacted by Sky News, the makers of the drink, Gayatri Herbals, based in Maharashtra, India, said they had no idea how the drug made it into the drink.
Marketing director Amlesh Karle said the product was only sold in India and not exported overseas.
“It’s absolutely shocking. This has nothing to do with my company and my product,” the marketing director said.
“We have been making this product for 10 years and have never had a problem with it.
“There has been some mischief. Someone has bought it in India and taken it to the U.K. We have no idea how the drug got in there.”
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