‘Tip of the iceberg’: Extremely dangerous new drug detected in Australia

An “extremely dangerous” new group of drugs linked to a number of deaths worldwide have made their way to Australian shores.

A group of dangerous new street drugs, which can be up to 50 times stronger than fentanyl, have made their way to Australian shores, prompting warnings from law enforcement and medical experts.

Nitazenes, a class of strong synthetic opioids, have been detected in every state and territory in Australia, and linked to at least a dozen deaths.

Varying in strength, nitazenes can be 50 times stronger than fentanyl and up to 500 times more potent than Heroin.

“Nitazenes are extremely dangerous,” Professor Suzanne Nielsen, the Acting Director of the Monash Addiction Research Centre, told news.com.au.

“We have seen this increasing frequency of detections and alerts, which does make us very nervous.”

Nitazenes are a class of synthetic opioids typically sold as heroin. Picture: Joe Lamberti for The Washington Post via Getty

The drugs were first developed by pharmaceutical companies in 1950s while looking for alternatives to morphine but were never approved for market due to the high potential for overdose.

Today, nitazenes are typically sold as other substances such as cocaine, MDMA and ketamine and can come in a variety of forms including white, yellow powder, or crystalline solid.

Professor Nielsen said some people would be unaware they are taking nitazenes, explaining there is “really no way” to spot the drug by looking at the substance without testing.

“We’ve also seen falsified pharmaceutical tablets that contain these potent opioids. So it might actually just look like a pharmaceutical product, but it actually contains nitazene,” she warned.

The drugs block pain signals in the brain and can suppress respiration.

“People don’t have a drive to breathe and really, that’s what’s most dangerous about them.

“For people who don’t regularly take opioids, that don’t even know there’s an opioid in the drug that they’re taken, are extremely vulnerable to a fatal overdose.”

“Tip of the iceberg”

Nitazenes have been connected to a large number of deaths around the world, including 170 overdose deaths in the UK alone.

“They’re estimating around six deaths a week now in the UK from nitazenes. And we’re seeing clusters of these deaths in the United States as well,” said Professor Nielsen.

“Australia is similar to the UK seems to have basically skipped (the) fentanyl (crisis) altogether and gone straight to these other synthetic opioids.”

The AFP and Australian Border Force have issued a joint public warning over nitazenes. Picture: AFP

Here in Australia, the exact number of deaths linked to a nitazene overdose is hard to determine.

In Victoria alone, the Victorian Coroners Court has reported at least 16 deaths.

Across the border, NSW issued a warning in April after nitazenes had been found in drug samples related to a cluster of about 20 overdoses. Nitazenes were found in people who thought they were using heroin.

In June, NSW Health reported four people across Sydney were left hospitalised with severe opioid overdoses in recent weeks.

Professor Nielsen said current detections are likely the “tip of the iceberg” and predicts there will “almost certainly” be more overdose deaths.

“In this first half of the year already, we’ve seen a number of these clusters of fatal and non- fatal overdoses. So we are quite concerned in the field, that these are no longer isolated events and we are starting to see this pattern of these substances emerging in Australia.”

Nitazenes can be up to 50 times stronger than fentanyl. Picture: Juan Pablo Pino/AFP

Intelligence from the Australian Federal Police suggests the drugs are being manufactured in overseas factories in China and India before making its way to Australian shores through the mail, the ABC reports.

In October 2023, Australian Border Force officers identified 22 detections of suspected nitazene imports within postal packages sent to Australia via mail cargo, originating from the UK.

“We are concerned with the increase in border detections of nitazenes. Since January 2023 to now we’ve detected 37 packages,” AFP Commander Paula Hudson told ABC’s 7.30.

What can be done

Professor Nielsen recommended those using illicit drugs to access naloxone, which is available for free at some pharmacies and can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

According to NSW Heath, repeated doses of naloxone can be required as well as hospital treatment.

Naloxone can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose. Picture: Alan Barber

“It’s what’s called an opioid antagonist. It binds the same receptors or the place in the brain where the opioid is binding and it basically knocks that opioid off the receptor and replaces it.”

She also suggested getting illicit drugs tested through one of the limited drug testing services in Australia.

With more overdose deaths expected, Professor Nielsen said drug testing as well as supervised consumption facilities, such as those in the US, are essential to strategies to help reduce the risk.

“We have an unregulated drug supply, so there is no quality control and it’s very difficult to really reduce these harms. What we need to do is put these sort of proactive steps in place.”