Man on 'cannibal' drug bit off Walsall tourist's ear
A tourist had a chunk of his ear bitten off in Magaluf by a clubber high on the mind-bending drug "cannibal".
Connor Moore from Bloxwich was enjoying his first holiday abroad when he was attacked in a nightclub called Bananas.
The 22-year-old from Ingram Road was partying with seven friends on July 28 when an Italian man pounced on him and sunk his teeth into the top of his ear.
Connor passed out and was rushed to hospital. He has since had to have tests for HIV and hepatitis and is now out of work while his injuries heal.
He said the attack was completely unprovoked.
"It was like he was possessed. The pain was so excruciating I passed out," he said. "I had lost my friends on the dance floor because it was so busy in there so I was taken to hospital alone. "
"I was in hospital for six hours and then got a taxi back to the hotel. My friends knew what had happened because a holiday rep jumped in to help me."
It is believed the holiday rep intervened and pulled the man off Connor before telling paramedics the attacker had been on the drug called "cannibal", which is believed to make users want to bite people.
It is not the first disturbing case of its kind and police in Magaluf and Ibiza are aware of the rising problem.
Spanish police believe the drug is being sold in nightclubs after a large shipment arrived on the islands earlier this summer and, this month, health chiefs in Ibiza warned that British holidaymakers were being used as guinea pigs in the trialling of new drugs.
The drug is sometimes referred to as a cocaine substitute and can be snorted, taken by mouth, or injected and can cause people to lash out by biting . It has been blamed for a recent attack in which a British tourist had to be handcuffed after biting a policeman.
In Magaluf, a holidaymaker high on the party drug had to be restrained by 10 policeman after he was caught trying to bite sunbathers.
The synthetic drug is made of bath salts, which contain a powerful stimulant called MDPV. The highly addictive salts create intense cravings similar to methamphetamines and cause users to act in an aggressive animalistic way. The most common side effects are agitation, fast heart rate, and hallucinations and delusions, seizures, high blood pressure, and paranoia.
