For the first time in Europe, judicial police have discovered a new synthetic drug. The seizure of thousands of counterfeit oxycodone tablets whose final destination was not Portugal resulted in the discovery of a new drug called N-desethylisotonitazene.
“For identification, the LPC relied on additional analysis carried out in collaboration with the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Lisbon and the Higher Technical Institute,” PJ can be read in a statement.
The new psychoactive substance belongs to the nitazene chemical class that has recently appeared in Europe. It causes a feeling of euphoria followed by drowsiness and obstruction of the respiratory system, which is a leading cause of death from overdose.
The European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction has already flagged 16 compounds of this class of nitazenes since 2019.