Super-powered drugs linked to hundreds of deaths have been found in samples of fake drugs bought across the UK, the BBC can reveal.

We’ve found more than 100 examples of people trying to buy prescription drugs like diazepam – commonly used to treat anxiety, muscle spasms and seizures – and instead receiving products containing Nitazane. .

According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), synthetic opioid drugs have been linked to 278 deaths across the country in one year. Nitazen may be stronger than both heroin and fentanyl, A prolific killer in America,

Martin Raithelhuber, an illicit synthetic drugs expert at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said the BBC’s findings were a “very worrying development”.

Warning: This article contains descriptions of drug use

A government spokesperson said it was “securing our borders from threat” through “world-leading intelligence, a dedicated cross-government workforce and extensive international networks”.

The contaminants were identified in anonymised samples submitted to Wedinos, the only national drug-checking service in the UK.

It said the counterfeit medicines “looked like the same packets you might get from your chemist on the high street” but were “likely bought from illegal online pharmacies”.

Anne Jacques had never heard of Nitzen when a police officer knocked on her door in the early hours of 17 July 2023 and said her son had been found dead in his student flat.

23-year-old Alex Harpham was preparing to pursue a career as an opera singer and was accepted onto a two-year master’s course.

“Watching him sing was one of the greatest joys I ever had in my life,” Ms. Jacques said.

It was initially suspected that the cause of his death was sudden adult death syndrome, but eight months later Alex’s family learned that he had ingested a contaminated substance from Nitazine.

Phone records show she tried to buy the pills, commonly sold as Xanax, which are only available with a private prescription in the UK.

Ms. Jacques believes Alex was doing this because he often struggled with sleep while taking medication for his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Nitazane’s traces were discovered only after he asked the police why they were not searched for in earlier tests.

Ms Jacques said she remained in “disbelief” at the lack of testing, adding: “If I had not pushed for better answers amidst the enormous grief, to this day I would not know how he actually died.” .

“How will anyone be aware and informed (about the dangers) unless we are testing for them?”

A spokesperson for Scotland Yard said that there had been “delays beyond the Met’s control” regarding the need for and timing of specialist testing in this case.

The North London Coroner Service said it has been in contact with the family regarding their concerns.

The BBC analyzed sample results published by Wedinos, a Public Health Wales service that shares information about the UK illicit drug market. It records what the person submitting each sample said he or she wanted to purchase.

In the year to September 2024, there were 130 cases when someone tried to buy the drugs illegally without a prescription and instead received substances contaminated with Nitazane.

Many were claiming to be benzodiazepines, such as diazepam, and insomnia treatments including temazepam and zolpidem.

Nitazine was also found in substances disguised as the allergy medication promethazine.

Professor Rick Lines, of Vedinos, said: “Perhaps people have found that they are not able to continue taking legitimate prescriptions and have decided to go down what they think is an alternative legitimate route, but in reality It’s not like that.”

The government plans to manufacture all types of Nitzen Class A drugs. Fifteen synthetic opioids were reclassified in March.

Under the Misuse of Drugs Act, those caught in its supply and production can face life imprisonment, while those caught in possession can face up to seven years in prison.

Mr Raithelhuber said there was “a lesson to be learned… from North America”, where people became addicted to prescription painkillers before the use of counterfeit drugs containing fentanyl became widespread.

“So here in Europe, we’re not in that situation yet, but it could be an early sign of smugglers trying to expand,” he said.

“I think it’s a warning, probably to all the other countries in Europe… that Nightzen is probably here to stay for a while, and their potential negative impact on users’ health is huge.”

He said because both benzodiazepines and nitazane were depressants, “their combined effect significantly increases the risk of overdose”.

synthetic opioid effects

Signs that someone may have taken any of these drugs:

• small, constricted pupils
• reduction or loss of consciousness
• dizziness or drowsiness
• difficulty breathing
• nausea or vomiting
• cold or clammy skin
• blue or gray lips and nails
• low blood pressure or decreased heart rate

Anyone who has ingested synthetic opioids and experiences the symptoms described should seek immediate medical treatment.

Source: Metropolitan Police

“The group of people most at risk were those who have always been at the highest risk of all drug-related harm,” said Harry Sumnall, professor of substance use at Liverpool John Moores University.

He said this included people with drug use problems and “those who use drugs to help manage their life circumstances”.

The NCA believes Nitazane is being produced in Chinese laboratories and being brought into the UK via Royal Mail and other parcel operators.

Dark web marketplaces seen by the BBC show that some similar online sellers in China are advertising adulterated benzodiazepines along with Nitazen in bulk.

The Border Force checks posts for drugs only when there is a known risk or intelligence. It said dogs trained to detect Nitazane and other synthetic opioids are “soon to enter service”.

Its teams seized new synthetic opioids nine times in the last financial year, according to a response under the Freedom of Information Act.

The sizes of those seizures ranged from 1 gram to 1.32 kilograms, which experts say could be equivalent to thousands of doses.

The government said it would also test for the presence of new drugs in wastewater from sewage treatment plants to predict the risk of an increase in overdoses.

However, it acknowledged that such testing is currently “experimental”. This process took about two months The only laboratory to successfully confirm the samples,

Experts previously told the BBC which was the last government Too slow to recognize the scale of the problem,

NCA deputy director Charles Yates said it took the threat from Nitazane “seriously” and was taking a “zero-tolerance approach”.

There is an average of 49 deaths weekly across England and Wales from drug poisoning involving opioids, including heroin, oxycodone, fentanyl and synthetic opioids. latest official figures suggest.

Additional Data Journalism: Paul Bradshaw

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