Police seize 150,000 pills in UK’s biggest haul of deadly synthetic opioids at illegal drugs factory
POLICE seized Britain’s biggest haul of deadly synthetic opioids at an illegal drugs factory.
They recovered 150,000 tablets of Nitazene and a pill pressing machine.
The drugs have already been found mixed in batches of heroin in London and across the country — contributing to a number of deaths, officers said.
A substantial amount of other drugs and a firearm were also found.
And more than £60,000 in cash and £8,000 in cryptocurrency stored on hard drives was seized, along with a large quantity of mobiles and laptops.
Met Police and UK Border Agency officers raided the drug factory in Waltham Forest, North East London, in October.
It is suspected drugs were sold on the Dark Web via encrypted chat apps and social media.
Eleven people have been charged with conspiracy to supply and are due in court at a later date.
The use of synthetic opioids in the UK is rising amid a drop in heroin smuggled from Afghanistan.
Det Supt Helen Rance said: “They substantially raise the risk of incredibly serious harm and are believed to be linked to a number of deaths.”