Nitazenes are a class of opioid drugs made up of several different substances, some of them up to 500 times stronger than heroin or considerably more powerful than fentanyl, that have already claimed the lives of 230 people in the UK
Police have issued a grave warning over fears of a highly lethal class of drugs they expect to kill drug users en masse in 2025.
In 2024, nitazenes – which can be as much as 500 times stronger than heroin – claimed the lives of at least 230 people in the UK, but experts believe this number will increase next year as murderous dealers cut their product with the killer substances.
It’s not just heroin addicts falling prey to the killer concoctions, as nitazenes have even been found in black market benzodiazepines like xanax and valium, which are used in a professional setting to ease symptoms of anxiety. Many Brits may have turned to the illegal pills desperate to alleviate the symptoms when they’ve been unable to get them through the proper channels.
Drug and alcohol treatment specialist Dr Judith Yates said: “We should be seriously worried about nitazenes in 2025. It’s a very, very dangerous drug because it only takes a microgram too much to kill – an amount so small it can’t be weighed. Nitazenes are essentially pain killers but, unless you’re a pharmacist with a proper laboratory, it’s hard to find the right dose to ease pain and not cause death.”
Heroin pushers are facing a dramatic reduction in product due to the Taliban crackdown on opium production in Afgahnistan – the world’s largest heroin exporter. Retired Dr Yates told The Sun: “Some heroin samples tested this year found no heroin at all, but nitazenes mixed with other drugs and caffeine. Poppies are planted in Afghanistan in November so it will be a couple of more months before anyone knows how many the Taliban have allowed to be planted.”
She said that farmers have resorted to growing their crops in mountainous regions where the Taliban has less control. Afghans have reportedly been storing enormous quantities of opium in their homes, waiting until they need to fund a large event or when the price shoots up, she added.
In Waltham Forest in October, the Metropolitan Police carried out a huge raid on a “sophisticated” drugs factory, where they found 150,000 tablets containing the deadly drug. It was the largest haul of the world’s most dangerous drug to ever be found in Britain.
