Four students at Wesleyan University in Connecticut have been arrested in connection with party drug overdoses that hospitalized 12 people.
University officials said on Monday that 10 students and two visitors were taken to area hospitals after showing signs of MDMA or “Molly” overdose. Both are handles for the chemical methylenedioxymethamphetamine.
The four students arrested face narcotics sale and possession charges and were arrested at about 8pm on Tuesday in Middletown, where the university is located. On-campus search warrants were also obtained by police on Tuesday as part of an investigation headed by the Middlesex County prosecutor’s office.
“As always, the safety and welfare of our citizens, including those on the Wesleyan campus, remains our top priority,” Middletown police chief William McKenna said in a statement. “Incidents jeopardizing the safety will not be tolerated and those offenders will be held accountable.”
Police said the investigation was still open, and did not provide information about what led to the students’ arrests.
The four students arrested reflect the school’s population, which is overwhelmingly (93%) from out-of-state and abroad. All have bonds set in the tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars.
Eric Lonergan, 21, of Rio de Janeiro, was charged with 16 counts of illegally obtaining or supplying drugs and drug possession. His bond is set at $100,000.
Two arrest warrants were issued for Andrew Olson, 20, of Atascadero, California. He was charged with two counts of sale of a hallucinogen and marijuana possession, with a cumulative bond of $175,000.
Rama Agha Al Nakib, 20, of Lutherville, Maryland, was charged with three counts of intent to sell drugs, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her bond was set at $100,000.
Charges of marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia were filed against Zachary Kramer, 21, of Bethesda, Maryland. His bond was set at $75,000. All are due in court on 3 March.
While MDMA is typically billed as a “pure form of ecstasy”, tablets sold as Molly can include a number of additions ranging from acetaminophen to ketamine, and may not actually contain any MDMA.
Police said on Tuesday that Connecticut’s forensics labs was looking into what chemicals were in the batch of Molly that sickened almost a dozen on the campus of the wealthy liberal arts school.
“This particular batch may have had a mixture of several kinds of designer drug chemicals, making the health risks unpredictable and treatment to combat the effects complex and problematic,” said McKenna.
It’s unclear how many students remain hospitalized – on Monday, a university spokesperson said just one student was still hospitalized in Hartford, but police said on Tuesday that two remained hospitalized. A spokesperson for Hartford Hospital did not immediately respond to requests for clarification.
Wesleyan University is home to about 3,000 students, and at $62,000 per year is one of the most expensive universities in the country.
