Woman dies after taking 'spiritual cleansing' drug

Cyprus police have arrested a Russian woman and are seeking Interpol's help to track down a Colombian man after a 34 year-old Latvian woman died when she ingested a psychedelic drug during a "spiritual cleansing" ceremony.

Cyprus police said it's the first time that they've come across the illegal drug dimethyltryptamine on the east Mediterranean island nation.

The drug was used by a group of 20 mostly foreign nationals during Tuesday's ceremony that's known as "ayahuasca" and is said to be practiced by indigenous people in the Amazon.

The 42 year-old Colombian man who is believed to have supplied the drug left Cyprus shortly after the ceremony that took place in the coastal town of Larnaca.

The 50 year-old Russian woman is believed to be a ceremony organiser.

Associated Press