UK Man Dies After Drinking Caribbean Soft Drink Containing High Levels of Cocaine

The Food Standards Agency has alerted the U.K. public that a Caribbean soft drink linked to one death has been found to contain dangerous levels of cocaine.  The “Cole Cold Pear-D” packaging bears the manufacturer name S.M. Jaleel & Co., Ltd, Otaheite, Trinidad, but the company has said they do not export Pear-D to the U.K. and that the label was last produced in September 2013 for the local Caribbean market.  Investigators are attempting to find out whether more bottles of the product have been distributed in the U.K.  The BBC reports that a Southampton man became ill after drinking a small amount of the Pear-D on Dec. 5 and died within hours at the hospital.  Hampshire police believe the bottle may have been used to get drugs into the U.K. “Inquiries to date have not identified any further incidents or similar bottles,” said Detective Superintendent Richard Pearson. “The investigation suggests that this was likely to be a rogue bottle from a consignment of drugs stored in plastic juice bottles.”  FSA is warning people not to consume the product and, if found, should be taken to a local police station.