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AAP
AAP
National
Neve Brissenden

Warning over 'organised crime gimmick' drug on streets

Police have warned a new party drug could cause stroke, heart attack and death. (HANDOUT/AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE)

A new party drug branded a dealers' gimmick has police and health officials worried as increasing amounts of the illicit substance turn up across the nation.

Between March and July, police examined 133kg of so-called "pink cocaine" across eight seizures.

The drug cocktail, also known as tusi, cocaine rosada, pink panther and pig nose, usually contains a mixture of ketamine, MDMA and other substances.

Police have labelled the drug an "organised crime gimmick" as it rarely contains any cocaine.

Pink cocaine
In November police seized more than 250kg of pink cocaine destined for Australia. (HANDOUT/AFP)

It is usually sold as loose powder or pressed into blocks or tablets imprinted with symbols and dyed with food colouring.

AFP Commander Paula Hudson said the pink colour was an attempt to appeal to users who were naive to the risks of stroke, heart attack and death.

"Pink cocaine is a deadly concoction made up with a grab-bag of offcuts from other illicit drugs like MDMA, ketamine and methamphetamine in unpredictable purities," she said.

"It's an unpredictable illicit drug cocktail that has the very real potential to destroy Christmas for you or your loved ones."

Testing of recently seized packages of the drug revealed its most common and prominent components were typically ketamine and MDMA, purities ranging from 6.8 per cent to 51.3 per cent.

In November more than 250kg of pink cocaine destined for Australia was seized by international police.

A 21-year-old man was arrested and charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

He has been refused bail and is due to return to court in January.

Various health services have also issued warnings about the substance, which has been detected in pill testing in Canberra and Brisbane.

A toxicology report produced after the death of One Direction member Liam Payne in Argentina suggested the singer had taken pink cocaine before falling from his hotel balcony.

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