Rise in deaths sparks fears of drugs crisis

Greater Manchester could be teetering on the edge of a drug abuse crisis, it has been claimed.

Last year, there were 86 drug deaths in the region.

There were 5,448 deaths caused by drug poisoning in England and Wales in 2023, an 11 per cent rise from 4,907 deaths the previous year and the highest drug death toll recorded.

Deaths due to cocaine soared with 1,118 deaths last year, 31 per cent higher than in 2022 (857 deaths) and nearly 10 times higher than in 2011 (112 deaths).

The report from GM Trends said: “Cocaine use appears to be on the increase across a wider demographic than many other substances. It is often used in conjunction with other substances, specifically alcohol and ketamine, prompting concerns from professionals of a lack of public awareness of the increased risks associated with combined use of cocaine and alcohol.”

But experts believe the rise in the use of synthetic heroin substitute nitazenes could fuel a looming drugs crisis.

Users are able to buy the synthentic drugs online and receive them through the post.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has released its annual assessment of serious and organised crime, with a stark warning that taking drugs has never been more dangerous.

The threat from drugs to the UK has increased due to a rise in the production of cocaine, an expanding synthetic drugs market, an increase in the availability of synthetic opioids, and more cannabis being imported. 

There has been a significant escalation in the criminal use of nitazenes as a cheap way to increase the strength of certain drugs, particularly heroin. 

In many cases, users simply do not know what they are consuming, and at least 284 deaths have been linked to high-strength nitazenes since June 2023.

Investigations are currently being made into the death of a young man from Hyde who may have lost his life due to using nitazenes.

Twenty-one-year-old Harry Durose was found dead at his supported accommodation in Hyde, Tameside, on March 3. 

Drugs containing nitazenes were also discovered inside the address.

If investigations prove Harry had been taking the drug, he will be Greater Manchester’s first nitazene casualty.

His mother, Amy, believes her son bought the drug on the black market, believing it to be the anxiolytic drug diazepam.

He had been diagnosed diazepam for a chronic condition called hypermobility – a condition in which joints are abnormally flexible, causing pain and stiffness – which he had suffered from throughout his life.

Ms Durose fears the pills her son received could have been cut with the deadly synthetic drug.

Following Harry’s death, an industrial unit in Birmingham was raided and 10 kg of suspected drugs was seized.

The number of people dying in the UK from drug misuse is now among the highest in Europe, having more than tripled over the last 30 years. 

Illegal drugs are also a key driver of serious and organised crime that blights communities across the UK, putting people in harm’s way, and at risk of violence on the streets from the criminal gangs involved.

The NCA helped seize more than 200 tonnes of class A drugs last year from across the globe, with an estimated street value of almost £17 billion had it reached the UK streets. 

And with every kilo taken out that was destined for the UK, the Agency prevents up to 1,000 street deals of cocaine or up to 10,000 deals of heroin.