Highly potent synthetic opioids found in teddy bear-shaped pills linked to a death in Queensland

The substances N-pyrrolidino protonitazene and protonitazene have been discovered in pale, yellow, bear-shaped pills marked with a ‘Y’. Photograph: Queensland Health

Teddy bear-shaped pills laced with synthetic opioids have been linked to a death in Queensland, triggering a public health warning about a group of highly potent illicit drugs called nitazenes.

N-pyrrolidino-protonitazene and protonitazene were detected in toxicology and samples taken from pale yellow pills marked with the letter “Y” in the state’s south-east.