NBI wants ‘green apples’ listed as dangerous drug

MANILA, Philippines–There’s a new drug in town but even as it has gained in popularity in top schools and high-end bars it has yet to be listed as a prohibited substance, according to the National Bureau of Investigation.

Eric Isidoro, head of the NBI Anti-Drugs Unit, identified the drug as “green apples” which has been classified as prohibited in the United States and Europe due to its fatal effect on users.

“This new drug has not been listed as prohibited here but we have been on the lookout for it because drug syndicates know they have a potential market here,” Isidoro said.

He said the NBI arrested two suspects selling the drug, which comes in green pills, in two separate buy-bust operations.

Brought in by tourists

“We want to get to the source of the green apples here which were first brought into the country by tourists,” Isidoro said.

He said drug mules belonging to a West African syndicate were now bringing the drug into the Philippines.

The first suspected pusher arrested was a 21-year-old college dropout who sold the drug to an NBI undercover agent in a fast-food restaurant near a university on Taft Avenue, Isidoro said.

“The suspect admitted selling to students in various exclusive schools and said he had regular male and female customers,” he added.

The second suspect, the NBI official said, was a 26-year-old club manager who was arrested inside the Cash and Carry building and whose customers were regulars at top bars in Makati and Quezon cities.

Stronger than ecstasy

“Green apples is a sex stimulant but stronger than ecstasy and the effect is supposedly longer and far more dangerous,” Isidoro said.

He said the drug got its name from the color of the “powdered pill which is green.”

Isidoro said that users experienced “alert, intense sexual urges, increased heart rate and felt happy.”

“Green apples is like ecstasy, but is not E. It’s different because according to users, they do not feel tired when the effect wears off, unlike E, but it is more dangerous because it could be fatal, particularly when mixed with other illegal substances,” Isidoro said.

He said green apples was being sold at P1,500 per pill.

He said that customers in exclusive schools had come up with a system where the buyers and sellers do not have to meet up.

“Payment is sent through money couriers and the substance is retrieved from agreed drop-off points like taped under tables and restroom sinks or toilet tanks in restaurants,” Isidoro said.