A 15-YEAR-OLD boy who died after drinking a beer laced with ketamine at an illegal rave in East Croydon has been named by friends as Rio Andrew.
Friends posted tributes to the schoolboy, from West London, on social media after he died in hospital yesterday (Monday) afternoon.
One posted on Twitter alongside a picture of the teenager: "Today I lost one of my closest friends, Rio Andrew. Words cannot even explain how heart broken I am. Love you dude."
Another friend tweeted: "Rio Andrew, 15, my best friend Dead :( it's times like this where we won't be scared but we look at the world from a different angle. <3 u Bro."
Croydon Police want to speak to anyone who may have been with Rio or who saw him that night.
Detective Chief Inspector Steve Baxter, heading the investigation, said: "Rio went out for the night with his friends. His parents had every right to expect that he would return home safe and well.
"Sadly, he didn't and my thoughts are with his family at this very difficult time.
"There has been speculation that his death was caused by drugs, at this stage no one can say that with certainty as we are still waiting for the results of the post mortem.
"I want to speak to anyone who saw Rio during Saturday night, as he travelled from his home in Notting Hill to Croydon, to help us build up a picture of his night out.
"If someone did sell or give Rio drugs then I want information to help us catch whoever that was.
"If you know anything or saw anything that night please get in touch and help with our investigation."
Council leader Tony Newman said on Tuesday: "Our thoughts go out to the boy's family over their devastating loss, and we will be doing our utmost to help the police bring those responsible to justice."
Rio, a pupil at Holland Park School, in Kensington, was one of thousands of people who attended the event at the former Royal Mail delivery office, in Cherry Orchard Road, on Saturday night.
The Advertiser understands that he was taken to hospital after drinking from a bottle of beer that police believe contained the party drug ketamine.
A 19-year-old, believed to have drank from the same bottle, remains in hospital in a stable condition.
Police have launched an internal investigation after admitting they had been told about the rave more than a week before it happened.
An intelligence officer at Croydon Police assessed the information, but no further action was taken.
Royal Mail also reported the building had been squatted in the week leading to the event.
Police on routine patrol on the night spotted people gathering outside the building, which closed earlier this year to make way for flats.
Additional officers were called but when they tried to shut the event down objects were thrown by the crowd and fire extinguishers were hurled from the building.
Police then stepped back, cordoned off the area and allowed the rave to continue before moving in to clear the delivery office, which suffered extensive damage, at 8.30am.
Six other people were taken to hospital after suffering injuries believed to have been sustained while breaking into the building. They have all since been discharged.
So far 14 people have been arrested for a variety of offences, including violent disorder.
