The Judiciary Police (PJ) arrested a man suspected of drug trafficking, including a new synthetic substance that is “highly toxic” and associated with several overdose deaths in Europe.
The suspect, aged 37 and of foreign nationality, was remanded in pre-trial detention.
The arrest took place as part of an investigation carried out over a year ago, during which N-Desethyl Isotonitazene was identified for the first time in Portugal and Europe, which is, according to the PJ, a synthetic opiate from the chemical family of nitazenes that is much more potent than heroin and Fentanyl itself, characterized by being highly toxic and associated with several overdose deaths in European space.
In the suspect’s possession, authorities found “considerable quantities of various types of narcotics and new psychoactive substances”, namely N-Desethyl Isotonitazene, Methamphetamine, MDMA and Ketamine.
The investigation continues.