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Cocaine Laced with Toxic Substance Kills 20 People
Approximately 20 people died and 74 were hospitalized after consuming cocaine mixed with a toxic substance, possibly opioids, Argentine authorities reported Wednesday.
Argentine authorities are working swiftly to determine what the cocaine was mixed with, but are warning those who purchased the drug in the past 24 hours to dispose of it.
According to Buenos Aires’ security chief, Sergio Berni, authorities were working to locate the toxic substance and remove it from circulation.
A key component attacks the central nervous system, Berni said.
The police raided homes in Tres de Febrero, a poor neighbourhood where cocaine is believed to have been sold, and arrested about ten people.
Cocaine packs similar to the ones described by the victims’ families were seized. Lab analyses of the drugs are being conducted in La Plata, the capital of the province of Buenos Aires.
Cocaine laced with toxic substances
Three hospitals reported several deaths and severe cases of poisoning early Wednesday, prompting authorities to issue an urgent warning.
Doctors were told that a number of the patients who were being treated had taken the laced cocaine together.
As of Tuesday, 12 people had died and 50 had been hospitalized — patients are being treated in eight hospitals in Buenos Aires Province, according to a government spokesperson.
The victims were said to have suffered convulsions and sudden heart attacks, according to earlier reports.
At least four of the victims were men between the ages of 32 and 45, according to health officials.
Emergency services have reported that new patients were being brought to hospitals in “critical condition” late in the day, Berni’s office said.
It is not uncommon for dealers who buy cocaine to cut it. Some do it with non-toxic substances such as starch. Others put hallucinogens in it. If there is no form of control, we can see this kind of behaviour.
This time, however, the drug was cut with a harmful substance because a “war between drug traffickers” was taking place, Berni said.
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