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 THE voice on the phone was rude and business-like.
I had called looking for John.
“No such person... What do you want?,” he asked in Malay.
I mentioned the password, Allam, which seemed to win his approval.
“Okay, you can come up. But wait outside first,” he said.
This is how a local syndicate peddling prescription pills – Alprazolam and Romilar – at Golden Mile Complex does its business.
You have to call first before you can buy the pills.
Alprazolam, or Allam in short, is an anti-anxiety pill while Romilar is used to treat coughs.
Both depressants are listed under the Poisons Act and are favoured among addicts who want to get a quick fix.
But taking both drugs together at high doses can lead to respiratory failure, coma and death, said the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).
One housewife knows first-hand what can happen when the pills are abused.
The woman, Madam Ira (not her real name), said her husband was arrested for an alleged armed robbery in May after repeatedly abusing both drugs.
Meanwhile, it’s business as usual every day on the third storey of Golden Mile Complex.
A small office, slightly bigger than an HDB toilet, is used by the syndicate to hide its operations.
Since mid-June, The New Paper on Sunday has noticed students, middle-aged couples and old men loitering 10m away from the unit before entering the office. Not just anybody can gain access. You have to be invited.
Number
Strangely, this reporter found the coded contact number written on a pillar nearby.
After waiting for 10 minutes and making five attempts to speak to the dealer, I finally got through.
The voice directed me to the unit.
The door opened and a man with a goatee said: “Come in quick before anyone sees.”
The man, who looked to be in his 40s, was alone in the sparsely furnished office with only a table and two chairs.
He locked the door behind him after I entered. Inside the smoky room, the windows were draped with a red curtain.
Said the skinny man with a lit cigarette perched on his lip: “How did you get this number and why did you ask for John?”
The person who recommended me told me to ask for John and I got the telephone number from the pillar, I replied.
The man said: “From now on, you deal with me, not John. John is no more (in business). Take down my number. You can call me Roz.”
Roz was quick to get down to business.He asked me what I needed.
In the two bags, placed on a chair at the edge of the room, were slabs of yellow (Romilar) and blue (Alprazolam) pills.
The slabs, tied with a rubber band, were so thick he had problems holding them in one hand
“You want ‘power’ (street name for Romilar) or Allam?” he asked. “You can buy more, so you don’t have to come here often.”
His offer for a slab of 1mg Alprazolam pills was $25. For each Romilar pill, he charged $3.
I was out of the unit in 10 minutes. Outside, a few people looked like they were waiting to see the peddler.
Syndicate
It is believed that the syndicate has operated this way for the last six months.
Eventually, illegal pill syndicates get caught.
In 2007, there were six cases of people prosecuted for selling Romilar. Last year, there were three cases, HSA said.
Under the Poisons Act, any unlicensed person caught importing or selling drugs like Romilar or Alprazolam can be fined up to $10,000 and/or jailed not more than two years.
An HSA spokesman said it is aware of what is going on at Golden Mile Complex and is monitoring the situation.
HSA discourages the risky practice of buying medicinal products from dubious sources.
Prescription drugs should be consumed only under close medical supervision, it said.
Alprazolam is a commonly abused drug, said a spokesman for the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).
As for patients being addicted to Romilar, IMH “has come across a few cases”.
The IMH spokesman said: “Many people resort to using Alprazolam... However, this effect is only short-term (lasting only few hours).
“If their underlying anxiety disorder is not diagnosed or treated, they may continue to consume more without getting the primary problem (anxiety disorder) treated.”
Some side effects associated with Alprazolam use is drowsiness, blurred vision, insomnia and memory impairment.
There were foreign reports of adverse behavioural effects such as irritability, confusion, agitation and hostility, mostly in patients with underlying psychiatric conditions or taking other Central Nervous System drugs, said HSA.
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