Garda Commissioner warns against potentially lethal drugs entering Ireland
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The Garda Commissioner has flagged concerns about the emergence of potentially lethal nitazenes, as further overdoses from the drug have been reported in the southeast of the country.
The HSE confirmed that a number of overdoses believed to be linked to the deadly drug have occurred in the southeast recently, following on from similar incidents in Limerick, Galway, and Dublin, earlier this month. Late last year, there were 77 overdoses in Dublin and Cork linked to the nitazenes, which are many times more powerful than heroin.
The World Drugs Report 2024, compiled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),
has highlighted the emerging use of nitazenes in Europe, including Ireland, because the cultivation of opium, from which heroin is made, fell by 95% in Afghanistan last year after the Taliban banned the production of narcotics.
Commissioner Harris said: “Afghanistan as a centre of production is nearly diminished to zero and that means that these artificial drugs are displacing that market and they are extremely dangerous.
"People aren’t clear about what they are taking and it can be an exceptionally dangerous product then. We have seen overdose cases through North America and we are now beginning to see them arrive on our shores.
Mr Harris added: “What I am very concerned about is that there is a huge amount of drugs, illicit drugs, moving around the world.
"We are concerned about it. Organised crime groups are always looking for a chink in the armour to move big amounts of commodity, so it is a concern that Ireland is being targeted in that way."
The World Drug Report 2024 said significant numbers of overdoses linked to etonitazepyne have been reported in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in Canada, and the substance has been also identified in Belgium, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom.
"Etonitazepyne and started being sold as heroin in Ireland in late 2023, which led to a wave of overdoses," the report said.
“Possibly as a consequence of less heroin being available on local markets in Ireland, etonitazepyne (N-pyrrolidino etonitazene) and protonitazepyne (N-pyrrolidino protonitazene) started being sold as heroin on the streets of Dublin and Cork in late 2023, which led to a wave of overdoses , according to media sources, totalling 77 cases in the two cities in November and December 2023.
A warning is in place since the National Drug Treatment Centre confirmed nitazene in yellow, counterfeit benzodiazepine tablets associated with the overdoses in Limerick, Galway, and Dublin in mid-June.
The deaths of two men in Limerick and Dublin are believed to have been linked to the drug.
A HSE spokeswoman said: “In relation to the UNODC report referenced, we had not seen Etonitazepyne in Ireland.
"We remain concerned about all drug use and it is important to note from our recent treatment figures, there has been an increase in presentations to treatment services associated with cocaine, which may be as a result of increased treatment provision by the HSE.”