Zombie drugs Qld: Nitazene smuggled through the post

Many more zombie drugs could be getting smuggled into Australia, based on the number of detections in the mail.

Australian Border Force staff check mail.

Deadly synthetic opioids that turn users into zombies are being smuggled into the country as international mail or express post parcels, the Australian Border Force has revealed.

But the amount of zombie-style nitazene drugs seized at the border is relatively small, indicating much more could be coming into Australia amid new research which detected the substance in our wastewater for the first time.

The ABF and Australian Federal Police seized 33.7 tonnes of illicit drugs and ingredients to make them last financial year, but of that 10 detections in 2024 and 39 in 2023 were of nitazenes.

The majority of the illicit drugs seized at the border were methamphetamines (11 tonnes), cocaine (5.6 tonnes) and MDMA (1.8 tonnes).

A whopping 6.8 tonnes of 1,4-butanediol — an ingredient in date rape drug GHB — was also seized.

Nitazenes are a group of very strong opioids that work like heroin or fentanyl and can produce life-threatening toxicity in small amounts.

An ABF spokeswoman said there was an increase in availability of the synthetic opioids on the black market, according to anecdotal evidence from around the world.

And authorities are increasingly concerned these deadly drugs are making their way into the illegal marketplace and into the hands of consumers unaware of how dangerous and potent they can be.

A sample of nitazene powder

The ABF spokeswoman said nitazenes were mainly being detected in international mail and fast parcels.

“While quantities in mail importations may seem relatively small, these dangerous substances have devastating impacts that can be life-threatening even in the smallest amounts,” she said.

“Nitazenes were developed by researchers as an alternative to morphine, but because of their high potential for overdose were never released.

“Nitazene can be presented in a variety of forms including powders, tablets, nasal sprays, and even vape liquids.

“They are often marketed and sold as cocaine, heroin, MDMA and counterfeit pharmaceuticals.”

In 2024 a pill testing site in Brisbane was presented a counterfeit oxycodone tablet which was later found to contain nitazene.

A study led by the University of Queensland this month revealed nitazenes had been detected in Australian wastewater for the first time, and at higher levels than those of the US, which has been in the grip of an overdose crisis for the last 10 years.

Nitazene drugs were found at five sites in both the US and Australia — the only countries out of 22 tested to show traces of the opioids.

“The levels we found in Australia were significantly higher than those identified in the United States, which is quite concerning,” UQ Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences’ Richard Bade said.

The study prompted calls from the Australian Medical Association of Queensland for the state government to reverse its decision to axe pill testing — a cry that has gone ignored.

Originally published as Zombie drugs Qld: Nitazene smuggled through the post