The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warns that a deadly drug 100 times stronger than fentanyl could already be on the streets for sale. This was reported on Wednesday by the New York Post.
It is a new form of nitazene, a lethal synthetic opioid resistant to the overdose counteracting drug naloxone (known by the trade name Narcan).
The drug – which is already causing a wave of overdose deaths across the country – was seized by DEA agents during a raid in the town of Hicksville, New York state, in August, and was detected for the first time in the Northeast, the agency revealed.
«It is alarming. “We have not found this compound anywhere in the Northeast,” said DEA Special Agent Frank Tarentino.
Nitazines are sometimes “up to 100 times more potent than fentanyl,” he added. The pills look like a legitimate prescription drug, like oxycodone, so most people don’t know what they’re ingesting.
«This is what is killing people. “This is more potent than fentanyl and can cause the overdose and poisoning deaths we are seeing across the United States,” Tarentino said.
The raid took place at the home of Anthony Gianatiempo, 34, who was arrested after Nassau County deputies and detectives raided his home on August 5 and confiscated a package of counterfeit oxycodone pills containing nitazene, a compound never seen in the area.
Additionally, they confiscated 59 fentanyl pills, 47 pressed methamphetamine tablets, 10 glass vials of liquid fentanyl, 750 grams of powdered fentanyl, 190 grams of cocaine and 200 grams of methamphetamine, as well as an arsenal of explosives, including five suspected bombs and more than 30 pounds of smokeless powder.
“This didn’t magically appear in a house in Hicksville: it was trafficked here by criminal networks,” Tarentino said. With RT
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