Psychedelic tabs ordered online

A Wellington student ordered on the internet a dangerous new psychedelic drug, which arrived in sheets printed with pictures of the Beatles.

Police warned that the case of Victoria University maths and computer science student Andrew Trevor Harrison, 28, showed how easily "young, tech-savvy persons with no criminal history" could use illegal online drug marketplaces such as the now-shutdown Silk Road.

NBOMe, which goes by the street name "N-Bomb", is an unapproved psychoactive substance that, unlike legal highs, cannot be sold or imported.

The tabs have been implicated in deaths overseas, and last month four Christchurch people in their 20s needed hospital treatment after taking the drug at a party. One man ended up in intensive care with kidney and cardiac complications.

A police summary of facts presented at Harrison's sentencing in Wellington District Court yesterday said Customs intercepted two separate packages in September, addressed to his home in Newtown.

The first, from the Netherlands, contained five MDMA, or ecstasy, tablets and the second, from Canada, contained 210 tabs of NBOMe and led to a further 153 tabs being uncovered at Harrison's home, along with a 2mg bag of cannabis.

The summary said Customs had experienced "significant" increases in seizures of drugs mailed in small quantities, particularly hallucinogenic drugs.

Detective Senior Sergeant Tim Leitch said police had been seizing N-Bomb frequently around Wellington during the past 18 months. The risks of ordering drugs via websites did not seem to deter importers.

"They rely on the idea that Customs is not going to be able to intercept everything, so it is perceived to be a safe way to obtain and possess drugs."

Harrison pleaded guilty to importing ecstasy, possessing cannabis, and possessing and importing a psychoactive substance that turned out to be NBOMe.

Judge Peter Hobbs said Harrison now admitted it was a "moronic" thing to do.

There was no evidence that there was a commercial element to the importing, the judge said, but he thought the number of N-Bomb tabs had a sinister flavour to it.

He added that Harrison had no previous convictions, had co-operated with police, and had referred himself for drug counselling.

"You now realise what a big mistake you made . . . "

He saw no benefit in ending Harrison's studies by sending him to jail. He ordered him to do four months' community detention, 150 hours' community work and six months' supervision, including any drug counselling ordered.

Harrison's lawyer, John Miller, said the convictions were a serious penalty that could make any jobs or travel difficult in the future.

Miller told the judge the internet gave almost the impression of legality, even if that was naive. "This will haunt him."

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