‘Chinese-Made’ Opioids 10 Times Stronger Than Fentanyl Kill 54

Warnings issued after large quantities of highly addictive synthetic drugs called nitazenes were seized in a police raid and found in prescription drugs.

Fentanyl pills found by officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration are seen in this handout picture, in New York, on Oct. 4, 2022. Drug Enforcement Administration/Handout via Reuters

Highly addictive illegal drugs manufactured in Chinese labs said to be ten times stronger than fentanyl—which fueled the opioid epidemic in the United States—have killed 54 people in the UK in the past six months.

Nitazenes are a group of synthetic opioids hundreds of times stronger than heroin and have also been found in prescription drugs purchased online by the UK’s only national drugs-testing service.