One of Britain’s most senior police officers has warned that there has never been a more dangerous time to take drugs. Graeme Biggar, head of the National Crime Agency, made the remark as he announced that 284 people in the UK had died from taking the synthetic opioid Nitazene, which can be 100 times more powerful than heroin.

The NCA’s director general said drugs were the single biggest driver of organised crime in the UK and remained the “most important type of crime” that law enforcement must tackle, while expressing concern about a “significant” number of deaths linked to the “incredibly powerful” Nitazene last year.

Reviewing the NCA’s annual assessment of the criminal threat to Britain, he said: “Never has taking drugs been more dangerous.”

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“The number of people who have died from drug abuse has increased by 60 percent in the last ten years and has tripled in the last 30 years. This means we have one of the highest drug death rates in Europe.”

At Thursday’s press conference in central London, he told reporters that the NCA had detected a higher number of synthetic opioids in the last year, after previously turning up in small quantities in the form of drugs such as fentanyl. Since the Nitazene “surge” began in June last year, there have been 284 confirmed deaths to date from Nitazene or variants of it, he said, but stressed that the number was likely to rise as investigations into other deaths continued.

“This is a relatively small proportion of all drug-related deaths, but it is increasing. It is significant,” said Biggar, adding: “Nitazene can kill you the first time you take it, and very often you are not even aware that you are taking Nitazene.”

“It’s adulterated heroin. It’s been put into a pill that you think is something else. And so anyone, even a teenager, can take a drug and think it’s something else, but it’s Nitasen. It’s incredibly powerful and you die.”

Last month, GMP announced a pilot project in which officers would carry Naxolen, an “antidote” to Nitazene. In May Manchester Evening News reported how experts in the city are preparing for the impact of nitazen on Manchester’s drug scene.

One heroin user, who wished to remain anonymous, told us he was worried he had taken it recently by accident. “It’s in the city now,” he said. “People around the gardens (Piccadilly Gardens) are worried because you don’t know it until you’ve taken it. It’s horrible. Your heart starts beating too fast. You feel sick. You immediately feel like you’ve taken an overdose. It’s too strong.”

In March, 21-year-old Harry Durose was found dead in his supported accommodation in Hyde, Tameside. Drugs containing Nitazene were also discovered in the flat and the MEN has learned that Greater Manchester Police are investigating whether his death was linked to the synthetic opioids.

Harry’s mother, Amy Durose, said she was convinced her son had unknowingly taken the drug after buying what he believed to be diazepam on the black market. He had previously been prescribed diazepam to treat a chronic joint condition.

“They just sent it to him and nobody had a clue,” Ms. Durose said. “I just wish he had told me. He was very knowledgeable about prescription drugs. If he had known that this Nitazene existed, he wouldn’t have risked it.”