Bad batch of heroin warnings as one man dies and two rushed to hospital
Town Hall warns drug overdose deaths are rising
Friday, 18th August 2023 — By Frankie Lister-Fell
One man was found dead in Arlington Road on Saturday
DETECTIVES have warned that a dangerous “bad batch of heroin” may be circulating in Camden Town after a man died and two other drug-takers were rushed to hospital.
The Met released a statement this week saying the separate incidents had caused them “particular concern” and urged anyone who bought hard drugs in Camden to “safely dispose of these substances as soon as possible”.
Meanwhile, a drugs policy charity has warned of a coming “disaster” in opioid-related deaths with potentially deadly strains of street heroin predicted to sweep the drugs market.
Synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, can be so powerful that a “grain of sand’s worth” can cause a fatal overdose in some cases. The council warned last night (Wednesday) that “increasing overdoses have been identified in Camden”.
A Met source told the New Journal: “We believe there is a bad batch of heroin circulating in the community. At this stage we cannot say what contaminants are within the drugs.”
A man in his early 70s was found dead by paramedics at an address in Arlington Road, Camden Town, on Saturday at 4.15pm.
The death is being treated as “unexpected” despite drug paraphernalia being found.
Around 20 minutes after his body was discovered, the emergency services were called to reports of two men found seriously unwell after taking drugs, believed to be heroin, in Cubitt Street, King’s Cross.
After they discovered the men, detective chief inspector Chris Soole said: “An investigation is continuing to establish where these drugs have come from and I encourage anyone with information to contact police.
“If anyone has taken an illegal substance and becomes unwell then they should seek immediate medical advice.”
Steve Rolles, from the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, said he was “terrified” by predictions of an increase in extremely potent synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl and nitazines, infiltrating the UK drugs market.
Earlier this year, the Taliban outlawed opium production in Afghanistan, the source of around 95 per cent of the UK’s supplies of the drug. Until supply dries up, dealers might turn to synthetics to plug the gap.
Mr Rolles, who lives in Kilburn and is a senior policy analyst at the Transform charity, said: “A grain of sand amount of one of these [synthetic] drugs is enough to cause a fatal overdose in some cases.
“There’s all sorts of scenarios in which just regular illegal heroin can lead to overdoses. And that’s not a new thing. One of the problems with illegal heroin supply is it can vary in strength.
“But there is a growing concern with synthetic opioids, and some other drugs, creeping into the illegal heroin supply.”
He added: “In the US, they now have more than 100,000 overdose deaths a year. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid which is around 50 times stronger per unit weight than heroin. Some of them are like 1,000 times stronger.”
Opioids are depressant drugs, depressing the respiratory system to the point where breathing stops.
Figures show how 88 per cent of opioid-related deaths in the US involved synthetic opioids.
Mr Rolles said: “In the US, they’ve displaced heroin because if you’re a cartel, why would you smuggle 50 kilos of heroin when you can smuggle one kilo of fentanyl? There’s been some real concern that a similar phenomenon could happen in the UK. It is genuinely terrifying.”
The foundation has suggested the government implement supervised drug consumption rooms, drug testing – which is currently not legal unless formally licensed by the Home Office – and prescribe vulnerable long-term users with safe heroin. But Mr Rolles said the government’s current plan does not go far enough to protect people.
“We need to get ready for it,” he said. “Otherwise, we’re going to have a disaster like the one that’s happening in the US. It’s just a recipe for disaster unless we prepare for it.”
In 2021, 17 people in Camden died from drug poisoning and 11 died from drug misuse.
Mr Rolles also recommended an increase in the training and access to opioid overdose-reversing drug Naloxone, which can be administered via a nasal spray or injection and restores normal breathing in a matter of minutes. “I’ve seen it happen. It’s quite amazing,” he said.
Grassroots rough sleeping organisation Streets Kitchen has also been advocating for greater access to Naloxone, “which can be a literal lifesaver”, it said.
At their annual Streets Fest in Finsbury Park on September 5, they will be providing free Naloxone training sessions again.
Jon Glackin, speaking on behalf of Streets Kitchen, added about the death: “As soon as we heard the tragic news we alerted our networks that there may be a bad batch circulating. Unfortunately, we did not see this replicated by any official channels.
“Since the closure of the Margarete Centre, we’re still unfortunately very confused as to who actually does what in Camden’s drug services.
“Too many drug users pass away due to the lack of simple information, we attempt and advocate to make information simple and accessible for all to simply save lives.”
Camden’s drug services were run by the NHS out of the Margarete Centre in Hampstead Road for decades, but in April a contract was handed to Change Grow Live (CGL).
A joint statement from Camden Council and Change Grow Live said: “We are very sad that a man died in Camden this weekend and we send our condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time.
“Camden Council and Change Grow Live work closely together to help people in Camden who need drug or alcohol support. This includes giving dedicated support to users who need help, providing clear harm reduction advice to users and making people aware how they can access life-saving Naloxone.
“Contaminated heroin is an issue of national concern and increasing overdoses have been identified in Camden. We will continue to work with all our partners to amplify messages on the dedicated support and advice available to users on current risks and what they can do to stay safe.”
There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.
