Killer Spice strain on streets of the region
NEW DEADLY VERSION OF THE ZOMBIE DRUG CALLED‘POWER’
A deadly new strain of socalled zombie drug Spice is plaguing our streets.
The worrying rise in reports of users slumped around Newcastle city centre is thought to be down to a potentially fatal blend of the drug, called Power.
Shocking CCTV footage emerged showing the terrifying impact of the lethal high, with one man seen crouching on the ground before inhaling fumes from the Class B substance.
Recorded in Newcastle the last fortnight, the clip shows the user slumped and rooted to the spot as the Power takes hold.
Its arrival on our streets prompted Northumbria Police to warn someone could be killed by the drug.
Since the first reports of Power on June 4, there have been 16 arrests, 10 people charged, two people summonsed to court and six people released pending further inquiries.
And the North East Ambulance Service has been called out to at least 19 lethal high incidents in June so far.
Preliminary tests have been carried out that show Power has similar characteristics as Spice but officers need further analysis to be certain of just how potent the drug is.
Newcastle Central MP, Chi Onwurah, believes the drug is a blight on the city.
She said: “I am hugely concerned by the impact of Spice and drugs like it on both individuals and our communities. I have heard terrible stories about people found in terrible states, endangering children and unable to look after themselves.
“It is a real blight on our city centre and I know the police are trying to erase it and they need the powers and resources to do that.”
Earlier this year, an investigation discovered Spice was being mass produced in Chinese labs before being shipped to the North East and inflicting misery in our communities.
The chemical powder needed to make the illegal drug is cooked up in Asia before being smuggled over here by online dealers.
Despite the former legal high being banned in Britain since last May, a string of Chinese sellers offer kilos for as little as £880 – enough for deals worth tens of thousands of pounds at just £5 a bag.
The powdered chemical, officially known as 5F-ADB and up to 100 times stronger than street cannabis, is made in labs across China, including one in Shanghai.
Pictures taken inside
the factories show apparatus including a flask full of bright yellow liquid, discarded rubber gloves and sacks of white powder on the floor.
The powder is smuggled 6,000 miles to the UK.
Dealers dissolve the powder in water and spray it on to herbs which are then smoked – with appalling effects.
Some users suffer from psychosis for as long as a month and the condition has been dubbed Spiceophrenia by medics.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “We cannot predict how our body will react to these substances and, like any illegal substance, there is the potential that these drugs could cause a user to have a fatal reaction.”
Anyone who needs advice on drugs should contact FRANK on 08700 77 6600 or visit www.talktofrank.com.