CANBERRA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Federal Police has issued a warning over a dangerous drug that authorities have found in counterfeit medications.
The AFP said on Wednesday that nitazenes have been detected in counterfeit pain medications in the east coast states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, as well as the Australian Capital Territory in recent months.
Nitazenes are a type of synthetic opioid that are 10 times more potent than fentanyl and are illicit in Australia.
The AFP said that the drug, which can be distributed as powders, tablets, nasal sprays and vape liquids, can cause serious and unpredictable health effects, including fatal overdose.
"We cannot understate the dangers which surround any use of this illicit and highly potent drug. If you choose to take it, you are gambling with your life," AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner Paula Hudson said in a statement.
She said that there are also concerns for the safety and welfare of nurses, doctors and law enforcement officers who could be exposed to "dangerous health impacts" when handling the substance or treating people who consume it.
Between April 2024 and February 2025, the AFP said that state and territory police seized counterfeit pharmaceutical pills that were "almost identical" to oxycodone, a pain relief medicine available in Australia with a prescription, and conducted forensic analysis showing they contained nitazenes.
The health department in New South Wales in 2024 issued a public drug warning after four people across Sydney were hospitalized with severe opioid overdoses caused by nitazenes. ■
