Irish drug users are starting to import fake painkillers that contain a substance linked to mass overdose deaths in the US.
So far in 2022, two consignments of fake oxycodone tablets have been intercepted by Irish authorities. An analysis of the drugs showed they contained metonitazene, a synthetic opioid variously described as being 10-100 times more powerful than morphine.
Ireland is only the third European country to detect the drug to date. The seizures prompted the EU’s drug monitoring agency to issue a warning across Europe about the highly dangerous drugs.
Metonitazene has recently joined fentanyl as a leading cause of overdose deaths in the US.
Tony O’Reilly, Nell McCafferty, Ian Bailey and more: 50 people who died in 2024
Men more likely than women to ‘keep unwanted gifts’
Restaurant of the year, best value and Michelin predictions: Our reviewer’s top picks of 2024
‘I personally only come here for the ladies’: Fog hits racing but not youthful glamour at Leopardstown
It has been detected only a handful of times in Europe. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction said only Ireland, Slovenia, and Norway have detected its presence so far.
Figures provided by the Health Products Regulatory Authority show the number of tablets seized is small — just 15 pills across two seizures — but they are likely to represent a fraction of what is being imported.
It is believed the pills, which were labelled as oxycodone, were purchased on the dark web and were intended for personal use.
