A NEW drug so powerful that a single grain can be deadly is killing hundreds, as experts warn of a looming public health “catastrophe”.
Nitazenes, man-made opioids mainly imported from China, have been linked to a surge in deaths across Europe.
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Just a trace of nitazenes can shut down the body’s central nervous system and trigger an instant overdoseCredit: Getty
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More than 400 deaths in the UK were linked to nitazenes in the UK between 2023 and 2025Credit: Met Police
Up to 250 times stronger than heroin, the Class A concoction is so potent it’s been nicknamed a “Frankenstein” drug in the past.
It is currently being cut into street drugs like heroin, and also mixed into fake painkillers and anxiety meds that can be easily bought online.
Drug lords do this to make the drugs stronger or stretch supply and boost profits, but it means people can unknowingly take more potent substances, including nitazenes.
Just a trace amount can shut down the body’s central nervous system and trigger an instant overdose.
Nitazenes have already swept through the US, fuelling its deadly opioid crisis – one Europe had mostly avoided, until now.
Parts of Europe, specifically Britain and the Baltic states are facing an influx of deaths related to the drug.
Hundreds of people died in the UK, from overdoses involving nitazenes over 18 months until January of this year, according to the government.
“This is probably the biggest public health crisis for people who use drugs in the UK since the AIDS crisis in the 1980s,” Vicki Markiewicz, executive director for Change Grow Live, a leading treatment provider for drugs and alcohol in the UK, told The Wall Street Journal.
Just this week, Scottish health chiefs have warned that nitazenes are tearing through Scotland, warning of an imminent wave of deaths.
The synthetic opioids are also fuelling a sharp rise in fatalities in Estonia and Latvia.
Frankenstein drug 50 times stronger than fentanyl set to cause ‘tsunami of deaths’ in UK & spark war between crime gangs
“Synthetic opioids in the US have not been driven by demand, they have been driven wholesale by supply,” Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said.
“If large criminal groups such as Albanian mafia groups, Turkish criminal groups or Italian or Mexican groups get into supplying nitazenes to Europe on a large scale, we can anticipate a massive public healthcare catastrophe.”
Drug cartels in Mexico could “easily” use their contacts in China to funnel nitazenes into the US, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has warned.
So far, Mexico hasn’t seized any shipments of the drug, but the DEA says it’s already found in at least 4,300 drug seizures since 2019.
Just identifying the substance is a challenge, as most overdose tests don’t screen for nitazenes meaning the true death toll could be far higher than reported.
More than 400 deaths in the UK
Nitazenes were first developed in Switzerland in the 1950s as an alternative to morphine.
However, the drugs were so strong and addictive that they were never approved for medical use.
But they re-emerged on the European black market in 2019 and ever since, have been spreading globally.
The drugs suppress the respiratory system, so people can die because they stop breathing.
The symptoms of an overdose can be reversed by taking an antidote called naloxone.
Nitazenes first made UK news in 2021 when an 18-year-old took a non-fatal overdose.
Since then, the drug has surged in popularity, becoming the newest killer on the streets.
Officially, more than 400 deaths plus many non-fatal overdoses were linked to nitazenes in the UK between June 2023 and January 2025, according to Government data.
In Estonia, nitazenes were involved in 48 per cent of all drug-induced deaths in 2023 (56 of 117), up from 39 per cent in 2022, the European Drug Report 2025 states.
In Latvia, nitazene-linked fatalities rose from 29 per cent in 2022 to 38 out of 130 in 2023 -doubling the country’s total drug death toll in just a year, the same similar data show.
The increasing availability of these and other synthetic drugs led the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to warn in August 2024 that “there has never been a more dangerous time to take [illegal] drugs”.
And just today, health experts from Scotland warned Nitazenes could be behind a sharp rise in suspected drug deaths.
An update from Public Health Scotland (PHS) revealed there were 312 suspected drug-related fatalities between March and May, a 15 per cent rise on the previous quarter.
The latest Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response report, said potent synthetic opioids known a nitazenes were increasingly mixed with other drugs such as heroin.
Nitazenes were found to be present in 6 per cent of all deaths and one expert said the figure was probably an “underestimate” because of issues with testing.
Nitazenes ‘murdered’ by son
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Alex Harpum, a rising opera singer, died after accidentally taking the drugCredit: Facebook
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The Welsh lad had bought ADHD off the internet which was contaminated with NitazenesCredit: Llun cyfrannydd
Anne Jacques of North Wales told the Journal her son, Alex Harpum, a rising opera singer, died of a nitazene overdose in 2023.
Police found Xanax tablets in his room and evidence on his phone that he had bought pills illegally, which he sometimes did to help sleep while on ADHD medication.
The coroner initially ruled the cause of death as unexplained cardiac arrest, or sudden adult death syndrome.
Unsatisfied, Jacques researched drug contaminants and asked the coroner to test for nitazenes.
Seven months after her son’s death, police confirmed that his tablets had been contaminated with the potent opioid.
“I basically had to investigate my own son’s death,” Jacques said. “You feel like your child has been murdered.”
Alex isn’t alone, there have been clusters of fatalities in Bristol, Basildon, Coventry and the West Midlands, with nitazenes also in Glasgow.
British jails are also facing an influx of deadly drugs, with 15 non-intentional drug deaths confirmed in prisons in England and Wales in 2022, according to the Independent.
What are nitazenes?
Nitazenes were first developed in the 1950s as an alternative painkiller.
However, the drugs were so strong and addictive that they were never approved for medical use.
They are available in powder, tablet, and liquid form, which means they can be injected, swallowed, or snorted.
The drug can trigger feelings of pain relief, euphoria, relaxation and sleepiness.
But they can also lead to sweating, itching and nausea.
Nitazenes first made UK news in 2021 when an 18-year-old took a non-fatal overdose.
Since then, the drug has surged in popularity, becoming the newest killer on the streets.
The NCA believes nitazenes are being produced in illicit labs in China and often enter the UK in the “post”.
In most cases, it is then mixed with heroin by organised gangs, strengthening the drugs being sold on the street.
Signs that someone may have taken one of these drugs:
Small, narrowed pupilsReduced or loss of consciousnessDizziness or drowsinessDifficulty breathingNausea or vomitingCold or clammy skinBlue or grey lips and fingernailsLow blood pressure or decreased heart rateAnyone who has taken synthetic opioids and has any of these symptoms should call 999 and seek urgent medical help
Source: Talk to Frank