Pubdate: Tue, 06 Dec 2005
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2005
Contact:  http://www.scotsman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406
Author: Alan McEwen, Crime Reporter

ADDICTS WARNED AS DEADLY MORPHINE BATCH HITS STREETS

POLICE today warned that a batch of morphine thought to have been 
brought to the Capital from Poland risked killing drug addicts.

Officers have discovered that ampoules of morphine hydrochloride are 
being sold by drug dealers in the city.

The ampoules are designed to be injected, unlike most morphine 
dispensed in Scotland, which is normally given to seriously ill 
cancer patients to drink.

The batch of the powerful drug is thought to have been smuggled into 
the country from Poland.

They may originally have been issued for military use in the former 
Eastern Bloc country.

Police are urgently trying to trace the rest of the morphine and 
issued a warning that its effects could prove deadly.

They said the availability of morphine on the city's streets is 
highly unusual and addicts looking for a fix may be unaware of its strength.

These ampoules bear the inscription Morphinum Hydrochlorum, WF2 
POLFA, 20198, 1ml/20mg. The ampoule may also have a blue stripe 
around the neck.

Polfa is the name of a Polish pharmaceutical firm which specialises 
in manufacturing morphine.

Officers from the Lothian and Borders force have yet to recover any 
of the full ampoules and no overdoses have been reported so far.

But a police spokeswoman warned that injecting the doses of morphine 
could prove deadly.

She added: "We have information that these ampoules are available in 
the Edinburgh and surrounding area which is highly unusual as it's 
not common for this drug to be in circulation.

"We are trying to trace where they have come from but would urge the 
general public, especially drug users, about the potential dangers of 
taking these ampoules including fatal overdoses."

The Polish population in the Capital has rocketed since the country 
joined the EU in 2004 and it is estimated that around 8000 Poles are 
now living here.

In November, a direct air link between the Capital and Krakow in 
Poland was announced by budget airline SkyEurope.

The flights will operate twice a week from April next year. Edinburgh 
had a thriving Polish population from the time of the Second World 
War, when the defeated Polish army fled its homeland and many 
servicemen ended up in the UK.

In April last year, a batch of heroin sold on Edinburgh streets was 
thought to have killed three people and left a teenager seriously ill 
in hospital.

The first victim, a 20-year-old man, was discovered by his friend at 
a home in Fort Street, Leith. Paramedics were called but it is 
understood the man was declared dead at the scene.

The other two deaths, of a 41-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man, 
took place in separate homes in Leith.

Detectives suspected the batch was either contaminated or is so pure 
that addicts overdosed on what would be a regular amount.

Police said drug users should contact their GP if they have any health concerns.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman