Two men die after taking 'unusually strong batch of heroin', with ten rushed to hospital and four people arrested
28 April 2024, 12:15
Two men have died after taking "an unusually strong batch of heroin", police have said.
The heroin is believed to be circulating in the towns of Westward Ho!, Bideford and Barnstaple in North Devon.
One of the men died on Friday, while the other died late on Saturday in hospital.
Two people are still in hospital, while ten were admitted for treatment in total after taking the heroin, including one of the men who died.
Four people - two men and two women - were arrested on suspicion of dealing drugs. They have since been released on bail as police continue to investigate.
Officers said that they think that the heroin could have been mixed with another substance, without giving further details.
Senior investigating officer detective superintendent Ben Davies said: "While we believe the substance found on Friday has been contained and there is no threat to the wider community, we continue to investigate the circumstances of the now two deaths as a result of taking this substance.
"We are continuing to carry out tests in order to ascertain what the substance is, but suspect it is a form of heroin combined with another substance which users will find causes more serious effects than heroin which they might usually use."
Some drugs experts have warned recently that synthetic opioids many times stronger than heroin could be coming to the UK.
Some of these drugs, such as nitazene, have proved very dangerous in other countries where they have been mixed with heroin sold to unsuspecting users.
In March, the government added 15 synthetic opioids, including 14 types of nitazene, to the list of Class A drugs.
Policing minister Chris Philp said at the time: "Synthetic opioids are significantly more toxic than heroin and have led to thousands of deaths overseas.
"We are determined to ensure these destructive and lethal drugs do not take hold in our communities in the UK."