Police confirm synthetic opioid caused mass overdose in Broadmeadows
A police probe has found a synthetic opioid in the systems of all four people — including a teenage boy — whose bodies were found in a home in Melbourne’s north.
Police & Courts
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Four people, including a teenage boy, who died in a mass overdose in a Broadmeadows home had all taken a synthetic opioid, police say.
Teenager Abdul El Sayed, the father of an 18-month-old daughter, and 37-year-old Michael Hodgkinson were among the four people found dead in the living room of the Bicknell Court house on June 26.
A 32-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman also died inside the home.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said a “synthetic opioid” had been discovered in all four people.
The spokeswoman said preliminary tests had ruled out the initial suspected use of fentanyl in the group’s deaths.
It comes after the Department of Health warned this week that white powder being sold to people in Melbourne as cocaine had been laced with protonitazene – a synthetic drug 100 times more potent than heroin.
“The product appears to produce strong adverse effects such as loss of consciousness, respiratory depression, and life-threatening hypoxia (insufficient oxygen for normal functioning),” the health alert read.
“Respiratory depression often appears more quickly with novel synthetic opioids (NSOs), increasing the risk of life-threatening overdose.”
Inspector Dean Thomas of the Homicide Squad described the group’s deaths at the time as “unusual”.
Mr El Sayed’s uncle Cory Lewis, who discovered the bodies, said the ordeal had “tortured” him.
“I hope people take a lesson from it, not to fall into this type of stuff,” he said.
The deaths are not being treated as suspicious and investigations continue.
Anyone with information about the deaths or the supply of illicit drugs should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report at www.crimestoppers.com.au.
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