Aussie Dad Becomes Fake Crime Boss To Avenge Son’s Drug Death

No parent should ever have to bury their child, but that was the position that Rod Bridge found himself in during February of 2013. His only son Preston died after leaping from a balcony while under the influence of synthetic drug 25i-NBOMe.

Lost and uncertain what he could do to make a difference, Rod Bridge decided that he would get to the bottom of his son’s death, by tracing the drugs that killed him back to their source. In doing so, he would enter the underground synthetic drug trade in China under the guise of being an eager Australian crime lord. His story is a fascinating and unbelievable example of how far a parent will go to avenge their child’s death.

Preston Bridge

When Preston Bridge was just 16 years old he took a synthetic drug during the after-party of a school ball. The drug was 25i-NBOMe, something that authorities believe was given to him after being purchased from notorious drug site Silk Road. This highly dangerous drug is considered to be up to 60 times more potent than LSD, although one hit is the size of just six grains of salt.

After taking the drug, Preston Bridge began to experience severe hallucinations and delusions, including a belief that he could fly. His friends were unable to stop him when he lept from the second story balcony of the resort where he was staying, and suffered fatal head injuries. His family turned off his life support just two days later.

A Father’s Mission

After his son’s death, Rod Bridge felt like there was nothing he could do to make a difference. But he continued to fight in his son’s memory. Eventually, the website where the drugs that had killed Preston had been bought was shut down. It wasn’t enough. Rod Bridge wanted to figure out where the drugs were coming from, and how they could be stopped.

So, he went to China, the world’s biggest producer of synthetic drugs.

There he uncovered an unbelievable world of synthetic drugs made to mimic the effects of well-known street drugs like ecstasy, cocaine, LSD and marijuana. In China the drugs are manufactured legally and sold as ‘research chemicals’, although most people are aware that they are not. Indeed, most of these drugs are a wild chemical mixture, and many of them are untested. They are imported into Australia illegally, and then sold to Australians who have no idea of the concoction that is going into their bodies, or what the effects will be.

Posing as an Australian drug lord planning on importing the synthetic drugs, Rod Bridge was able to go deep into Chinese drug rings. After contacting Chinese drug producers online, Rod was surprised that many were happy to meet him in person if he wanted to come to China. He partnered with 60 Minutes, and secretly filmed his interactions with the drug dealers as they happily showed him their wares, and how much it would cost to buy them.

His cover story, that he is a drug importer who wants to show his partner how the drugs are brought into Australia, opens doors for him that he never could have imagined. During his interactions he learnt that one of the suppliers claims to be already importing 100 kilograms of the synthetic drugs to Australia every month. As Rod Bridge says, Australia is certainly on the verge of a damaging drug tsunami.

What Now?

Rod’s intention in filming and recording his meetings was to have the Australian Border Force act on the startling discoveries, but as yet they have made no move. Indeed, Rod says that his previous attempts to bring in police and customs have been ignored. He has contacted government agencies, but has not seen any decisive action. For now all he can do is try and raise as much awareness as he can about how many of these drugs are getting into Australia, and just how dangerous they really are.

What Can You Do?

Many parents do not feel comfortable talking to their kids about drugs, and often immediately (and naively) assume their teenaged children are not taking drugs at all. This is not a smart road to take. The truth is that many teenagers and young people feel massive peer pressure, and curiosity, to try drugs and ignoring the topic all together only makes them feel that their parents are harder to approach.

Instead, try sitting down and having an adult conversation with your child about the actual risks of drugs, particularly these new synthetic offerings. Conventional drugs are bad enough, but the untested and unknown nature of synthetic drugs makes them all the more dangerous. An honest conversation might make all the difference, but if your child isn’t interested in talking with you a hard line approach might be more necessary. For example, some concerned individuals have taken to YouTube to showcase the unbelievably terrifying reaction that people are having to synthetic drugs every day. Although these are intense teaching tools, they certainly aren’t something that will soon be forgotten.