Finnish Customs detained narcotic tablets in Helsinki that contained a previously unclassified extremely dangerous substance, said Customs in a press release on Monday.
The substance has been sold as oxymorphone but it was observed in the examinations by the Customs Laboratory that the tablets contained protodesnitazene.
Protodesnitazene is an extremely dangerous synthetic opioid that has not previously been detected in Europe.
Protodesnitazene is a new synthetically manufactured drug that belongs to the group of nitazene-type opioids.
The effects of nitazens are considerably stronger than morphine and heroin, for example, up to 500 times stronger than heroin. The doses are at the microgram level.
Due to their strong effects, nitazenes are extremely dangerous to users, as they can cause respiratory depression like other opioids, and because of their potency, even very small doses can lead to life-threatening respiratory failure.
“Even a single protodesnitazene tablet can be fatal to the user. A person buying drugs can never be certain that the substance is what the seller claims it to be. So far, Customs is not aware of any drug-related deaths in Finland caused by the substance we have found,” said Director of Enforcement of Finnish Customs Hannu Sinkkonen.
Customs warns drug users about extremely dangerous tablets containing protodesnitazene, which may be sold online or on the street market. The tablet may be sold as oxycodone or oxymorphone.
- Dangerous
- Substance
- Narcotic tablets
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
