Contaminated cocaine in the Buenos Aires region of Argentina has resulted in the deaths of at least 16 people. Authorities said that at least 50 others had to be confined to hospitals after taking the laced drug.
Authorities believe that some of the drugs distributed on the streets of major districts within the capital region may have been laced with some kind of poison. They added that other substances may have been added to increase its volume, a practice done by dealers to make more money called "cutting."
Argentina's security minister called on anyone who bought cocaine within the last 24 hours to stop using them immediately and to throw them away. Most of those that died had come from the Hurlingham, Tres de Febrero, and San Martín districts of Buenos Aires. Police released the identities of the four victims from San Martin but did not say who else had died from the other districts.
Police officials have reportedly traced the source of the contaminated cocaine to a shantytown and have made at least nine arrests related to their distribution. Police said that some of the victims that had survived told them that they bought the cocaine from a supplier in the Puerta 8 shantytown in Tres de Febrero. Police immediately launched a raid on the location and arrested those involved.
Investigators have sent the bodies of the victims to be examined and have instructed pathologists to compare the drug taken by those that died to the ones they confiscated from their recent raids.
Argentina, behind the United States and Uruguay, has the third-highest rate of cocaine usage per person based on a 2019 research on drug consumption. Cocaine is a highly addictive stimulant that is snorted and derived from the leaves of coca plants.
Security Minister Sergio Berni said in an interview that buying cocaine is dangerous as dealers cut them before distributions. He warned that while some dealers use non-toxic substances such as starch, others use very dangerous chemicals. Berni said there is really no control over how dealers process cocaine before distribution, which means that users are always at risk.
Berni said they believe the drug may have been laced by one drug-trafficking group that was at war with another group. He added that the chemical that was used to cut the cocaine that killed the 16 people may have been strong sedative. Those that died reportedly suffered from strong convulsions and sudden heart attacks.
