Nitazenes: Tower Hamlets rough sleepers report panic about new synthetic opioids hidden in drugs

A climate of fear has taken over Tower Hamlets’ community of rough sleepers, with nearly everyone saying they’ve lost friends or unintentionally overdosed because of drugs laced with synthetic opioids.

A climate of fear has taken over Tower Hamlets’ homeless community, with nearly everyone reporting overdoses or the death of friends because of drugs laced with synthetic opioids.

Nitazenes, a type of synthetic opioid which can be 500 times stronger than heroin, have been linked to at least 284 deaths in the UK since June 2023, according to the National Crime Agency. In Tower Hamlets, where opiate use is one of the highest in the country, they are of particular concern. Nitazenes are hidden in other drugs to make them stronger, meaning people rarely know they are consuming them. The results are often deadly.

Yet, apart from a smattering of local BBC and Big Issue articles, no one is paying attention. The reported numbers of deaths are likely to be the tip of the iceberg, as routine post-mortem drug tests don’t yet show nitazenes. 

The chemicals are also evolving, and only two laboratories nationally can test for unknown substances in post-mortem toxicology, at a vast expense. Dr. Caroline Copeland, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology & Toxicology at King’s College London and the Director of the National Programme on Substance Use Mortality (NPSUM), told the Slice that for every confirmed death, there are likely to have been at least 100 non-fatal overdoses. 

Despite high numbers and experts warning of the impending crisis, authorities are reacting slowly. As we explored in the last article, social stigma about drug use and homelessness means authorities have been reluctant to explore innovations in drug policy that could be seen as condoning use.

In January of 2025, our investigative reporter Lara Bowman spoke to the local homeless population about synthetic opioids. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl and nitazenes are rarely consumed on purpose. Instead, they are hidden by dealers in other drugs to make them more potent. Synthetic opioids are most often found masquerading as heroin, but they’ve been found in everything from fake pain medications to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, aka weed) pens. 

The following interviews are a snapshot of over twenty-five chats. Some could not be included as the interviewee was not sober, but twenty-three rough sleepers were worried about the risks of synthetic opioids, whether they used them or not. Almost all knew people who had died due to synthetic opioids. 

Unlike the public perception that synthetic opioids such as fentanyl are an American crisis, homeless people in Tower Hamlets are increasingly aware of the threat they pose, and all have heard of fentanyl’s deadlier successor, nitazenes. Twenty-three of them were seriously concerned about nitazenes, fentanyl and overdoses. Twenty thought the rate of overdosing had increased dramatically in the last few months. 

Testimonials

Keiran, 53, who has slept rough on Bethnal Green’s streets since 1991, finally got clean over fears of overdosing on the drugs. He started drinking at age 15, after his father, an alcoholic, was murdered by his stepbrother, who was high at the time. The drinking began as a way to understand why someone would act like that.

When asked what he knew about fentanyl and nitazenes, he said: ‘I’ve heard about them, people are dying, you ain’t giving them a chance. I’ve had six friends die in the last month. They were looking for it, but they didn’t know what to look for. They thought it was alright, they smoked (what they thought was heroin) and half an hour later, they’re gone.’

They’re dropping like flies. A friend from rehab died last week, and two others the week before. It’s too much of a risk to smoke, but they’re addicted, you know, they’re on crack and have nothing to bring them down and are too out of it to be careful. People have given up hope.’

Of his own experience, he said: ‘I was on the booze for years and spent three years in rehab. When they stopped the benzos (a medication commonly prescribed for alcohol withdrawal), I started with acid and weed and then got on the heroin. But when people started dying, I went through the sickness (referring to heroin withdrawal). I don’t want to die you know.’

In the last year, he said the drug scene has changed; it’s become more incestuous, populated by increasingly chronic addicts rather than casual users.

Perched on a mattress under Bethnal Green Bridge, Serena, 21, told us she had overdosed three times in three months. A careleaver, she had been using heroin for two years and had never OD’d before. 

She said: ‘I’m terrified, I can’t stop but it’s so much stronger. I’ve nearly died and been in ambulances three times in last two months. You never know what you getting. I can’t go to shelters because they won’t let me stay with my partner. I have three friends who have died since Christmas and no one cares. But then no one ever did.’ 

Serena wants to get clean, she wants to work in music and live on a houseboat, but ‘that feels more like a fairytale than ever before.’ 

We found Charlotte, 33, curled in the foetal position in a sleeping bag under an archway, with all her possessions carefully placed around her to buffer the blistering January wind. Her mother had died three months ago, and Charlotte said she’d been evicted from her council house in Bethnal Green that she’d shared with her. 

The council, she said, hadn’t tried to rehouse her but instead told her she needed to approach services in Luton, where she grew up. She won’t go back because of her fear of an ex-partner who abused her. 

She has overdosed in the past. A charity supporting homeless people provided her with a testing kit for fentanyl and nitazenes in drugs. Although post-mortem toxicology is expensive, these ‘DIY’ test kits are relatively cheap and effective, if not perfect. She finds evidence of nitazenes at least once a week. They have also provided her with naloxone, which can save lives in the event of an overdose. Five fellow users have died in the last few weeks. She thinks that dealers know exactly what is in them.

Charlotte said: ‘I’m less scared because of the testing kit, but it’s got much more dangerous. People are terrified.’

Leila, 53, a fixture outside Bethnal Green Sainsbury’s, readily admits she uses. She said, ‘Not drink, only drugs. Crack and heroin, nothing else, and coffee and cigarettes. I’m addicted, I can’t help it, I open my bowels if I don’t. When you go black you don’t go back.’

Her knowledge of drugs is scientific, listing off academic names from diazepam, clonazepam, and zopiclone. She thinks the rate of overdoses has increased by 50% in the last year, even though drug use is down because people are scared. 

Among the population of rough sleepers in Tower Hamlets, synthetic opioids are a pressing concern. Difficult to detect or avoid, they are claiming lives among drug users. These are not deaths born of recklessness, but of unintentional overdose – people taking what they believe is heroin, crack or cannabis, unaware it’s been laced with something lethal.

Fentanyl was dismissed as an American problem until it wasn’t. Now, its more potent successor is already here, slipping under the radar. Although the issue is clearly understood among those it impacts the most, those in a position to help lack awareness. We need urgent investment in harm reduction, more comprehensive testing, and a shift in how we talk about drugs and the people who use them.

Next week, we will provide a scientific guide on what needs to be known about the nitazene class of synthetic opioids.

Read the first instalment of our investigative series on Nitazenes: The arrival of an invisible killer: Is Tower Hamlets ready for Nitazenes?