3 days ago
Urgent warning after two suspected opioid deaths at the weekend: Met Police urge Brits to take care after pills '500 times stronger than heroin' are feared to be being used in nightclubs
An urgent warning has been issued after two people died in a suspected synthetic opioid overdose following a night out over the weekend.
A man, 28, and woman, 20, are thought to have taken Nitazenes, believed to be up to 500 times stronger than heroin, after partying at a south London nightclub during the Spring Bank Holiday weekend.
Their bodies were later discovered at a property in Southall, west London, after a concerned friend was unable to wake the pair.
The Met Police confirmed an investigation into their 'sudden deaths' had commenced but no arrests had been made yet.
The force added: 'This is following reports that the individuals allegedly passed away after taking an illicit substance in the form of a green pill.'
Drug testing charity The Loop has suggested these pills contain Nitazenes, which can be '50 to 500 times stronger than heroin'.
The organisation added that they are often sold under the pretence that they are oxycodone, a highly addictive prescription painkiller.
A theory is that the pair thought they were taking oxycodone to assist them in getting to sleep, The Times reports.
World famous south London club Ministry Of Sound warned its customers to 'stay safe' last week, just days after the deaths over Bank Holiday weekend.
The pills taken by the users over the weekend had the number 80 on one side and possibly an 'OP' on the other, Ealing Council said.
The Cause nightclub in east London has taken to its Instagram account to claim there had been 'several hospitalisations across multiple London venues' associated with the pills.
MailOnline has approached the London Ambulance Service (LAS) to verify this statement.
The Met Police has also been contacted for comment.
An Ealing Council spokesperson told people to avoid taking the pills 'even in small amounts' and that people considering consuming them should not do so by themselves.
Users should also think about carrying naloxone - an opioid overdose antidote.
Nitazenes were first created in the 1950s as opioid painkillers but were never approved for medical use. For 70 years, their existence was forgotten.
Then, after Britain and America's withdrawal from Afghanistan - and the Taliban's subsequent narcotics ban - they re-emerged as a way to strengthen low-purity heroin in case opium supplies dwindled.
Experts are united in their fear of the rising risk of nitazenes. Yet, while heroin users are still vulnerable, young people buying traditionally legal drugs such as Valium and Xanax as coping mechanisms are also at risk.
In fact, MailOnline analysis of data from the UK's only drug testing facility Wedinos has revealed that two-thirds of samples that contained nitazenes were supposed to be legal medications that could be purchased legally.
Two-thirds of that total were bought by people intending to buy Valium (diazepam).
So far, the number of nitazene-related deaths only stands at 458 in the last two years, up to April 13.
However, there was a 166 per cent increase from 2023 (125 deaths) to 2024 (333 deaths) - more than double in a single year, and even that total is expected to rise once toxicology and forensic testing improves and is finalised.
Steve Rolles, a senior policy analyst at the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, told MailOnline: 'The number of deaths is rising at an alarming rate. It's the tip of the iceberg.
'What has happened in the US should be a warning to policymakers in the UK. We could be heading to a US-style overdose crisis. We are talking thousands or tens of thousands dying.
'All the indications are that is what is happening. I'm very wary of scaremongering about drugs but I'm deeply worried about the potential carnage opioids could do in the UK.
'We already have the highest overdose rate in Europe. Nitazenes could make it way, way worse.
'This is a very serious public health emergency that's not being taken seriously enough.'
He added: 'I am scared. There's almost one person dying every day from nitazenes and most people haven't even heard of it.
'If it was anything else, there would be national panic. The government hasn't grasped the urgency of this.'
Rolles is starting to see heroin mixed with nitazenes on the streets of Britain.
He said: 'It does seem it's getting more [prevalent] as the heroin supply dries up.'
