Lethal drug ‘100 times stronger than morphine’ that killed pop star Prince is ‘flooding the streets of Britain’
A TOP cop has today warned of an influx of a deadly drug which is 100-times stronger than morphine and caused the death of pop star Prince.
There are fears that fentanyl, which the Purple Rain singer overdosed on, is now flooding British streets.
In its legal form, the drug is typically used to treat patients with chronic pain, increasing dopamine levels and giving takers a feeling of joy and relaxation.
However, high doses of fentanyl, a powdered substance often being mixed with heroin and cocaine, are deadly as the chemical receptors it binds to in the brain also control breathing rates.
The Purple Rain singer was allegedly duped into taking percocet painkiller tablets laced with fentanyl as he tried to deal with the pain of drug withdrawal.
A coroner's report found he died of a fentanyl overdose.
Dr Michael Hunter, who studied the music icon's health records for a US television documentary, believes the singer did not realise what was in the painkillers.
Hampshire Police Detective Superintendent Paul Barton who is the head of organised and serious crime in Southampton, Hants, said a major operation revealed the drug is becoming alarmingly more common.
Det Supt Barton said: "It's a cutting agent that is mixed with various drugs, and people don't know what they're taking. It's 100 times stronger than morphine, and people aren't used to the strength.
"They don't expect what it is they get, and carfentanyl is even stronger than the main drug."
His comments come after an 18-month operation tore open a drug network in Southampton, putting 41 drug dealers behind bars.
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