Father claims drugs to blame for daughter’s sudden death – The Irish News

The father of beautician Chloe Ferris, who died at a Belfast nightclub last weekend, has revealed drugs were the cause of her death.

Declan Ferris said his daughter, who was out celebrating her 25th birthday, died after taking drugs for the first time.

There are now fears that a batch of drugs containing deadly fentanyl may be responsible for the young woman’s death.

Mr Ferris urged young people not to take drugs: “Anyone thinking of taking drugs, stop.

“Children play Russian roulette with their lives.

“My Chloe, our Chloe, played this game and lost.”

Chloe (24) was attending Lux nightclub in Belfast city center with friends to celebrate her upcoming birthday when she and a friend lost consciousness.

The young woman, originally from west Belfast but living and working in Newtownabbey, was pronounced dead at the scene after emergency services were called to the nightclub in the Dunbar Street area in the early hours of December 1.

A week after her death, her father said: “She died because of drugs, for the first time. His last time.”

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“The Christmas tree is there because she put it up, she loved Christmas, how we are going to do it without her is unimaginable,” he told Sunday Life.

“To be honest, his death destroyed us.

“It’s not just us, but the wider family and friends who have been destroyed.

“A moment of madness, totally out of character, and she’s gone, our hearts are broken.

“There was no one like our Chloe.”

Mr Ferris said he believed the medication his daughter was taking contained fentanyl or MDMA.

“What she took was obviously fatal,” he said.

“She had never taken drugs before, but the fact that it killed her says a lot.

“There’s all kinds of crap on the streets, the kids don’t know what they’re getting.”

He added: “And where are we now?

“I know where she is, she’s at Milltown Cemetery, I’m going there now because of the weather and all her wreaths are going to be taken away.

“But I’m going to be next to Chloe, she’s as much a part of me as she was last week.

“And like I said, I and we are all heartbroken, devastated and confused, we can’t believe this happened to our Chloe.

“Anyone considering taking drugs, stop, our family has been devastated and we will never be the same.”

In a previous interview with The Irish News, Mr Ferris said his daughter had “lived life to the fullest”.

“Chloe was an incredibly hardworking girl, she worked from nine to nine every day and Saturday was the only time she could have had a day off before Christmas,” he said.

“Chloe built a successful business and had a wonderful, extremely close group of friends.

“She had traveled the world and lived life to the fullest.

“We actually told her she needed to relax a bit, she was in America and Australia last year, which is exactly what she loved doing.”

He added: “I tell myself there was something in the back of her mind that knew something was going to happen, and that’s why she dedicated so much of her short life.”

Two men in their 20s have been arrested by police investigating the beautician’s sudden death.

Detectives arrested both men on suspicion of drug offences. They were later released on bail to allow further investigation.