A fatal drop: what do we know about the drugs, 500 times stronger than heroin, taking Australian lives?

Nitazenes, extremely potent drugs that are 10 times stronger than fentanyl, have never been approved for clinical medicine. And yet they are increasingly common on the black market: in vapes, in pills supposed to be MDMA, in powder trafficked as cocaine and in counterfeit pain medication. Photograph: enjoynz/Getty Images

In the middle of winter last year, in a unit in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, Carly Morse, Thomas Vale, Michael Hodgkinson and Abdul El Sayed used a rolled-up bank note to inhale cocaine. About 3am on 24 June 2024, all four likely became unresponsive.

El Sayed’s uncle, Cory Lewis, became concerned late the following night when his nephew, who had been living with him, did not return home.