Sune Engel Rasmussen
@suneengel.bsky.social
Security correspondent for WSJ and author of "Twenty Years: Hope, War and the Betrayal of an Afghan Generation". Eyes on war, the Arctic, organized crime and terror. He/him.
Reposted by Sune Engel Rasmussen
@suneengel.bsky.social also wrote about a terrifying story (that lives rent free in my head) about this recently --
Stronger Than Fentanyl: A Drug You’ve Never Heard of Is Killing Hundreds Every Year
Ultrapotent synthetics, mostly from China, are easy to smuggle and mix into heroin, recreational drugs and gray-market pharmaceuticals.
www.wsj.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:34 AM
@suneengel.bsky.social also wrote about a terrifying story (that lives rent free in my head) about this recently --
ICYMI here's my recent investigation into nitazenes and how they get into Europe from China
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
Stronger Than Fentanyl: A Drug You’ve Never Heard of Is Killing Hundreds Every Year
Ultrapotent synthetics, mostly from China, are easy to smuggle and mix into heroin, recreational drugs and gray-market pharmaceuticals.
www.wsj.com
August 8, 2025 at 6:42 AM
ICYMI here's my recent investigation into nitazenes and how they get into Europe from China
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
www.wsj.com/health/healt...
I also spoke to a mother in Wales, whose 23 yo son died after taking one illegally bought Xanax pill.
“This is probably the biggest public health crisis for people who use drugs in the U.K. since the AIDS crisis in the 1980s," the director of one of Britain's leading drug charities told me.
“This is probably the biggest public health crisis for people who use drugs in the U.K. since the AIDS crisis in the 1980s," the director of one of Britain's leading drug charities told me.
July 30, 2025 at 9:09 AM
I also spoke to a mother in Wales, whose 23 yo son died after taking one illegally bought Xanax pill.
“This is probably the biggest public health crisis for people who use drugs in the U.K. since the AIDS crisis in the 1980s," the director of one of Britain's leading drug charities told me.
“This is probably the biggest public health crisis for people who use drugs in the U.K. since the AIDS crisis in the 1980s," the director of one of Britain's leading drug charities told me.
I investigated how the drugs are sold online by suppliers in China, several of whom promised me that they can evade EU and British customs, and disguise the drugs in discrete packaging, such as cat food.
July 30, 2025 at 9:09 AM
I investigated how the drugs are sold online by suppliers in China, several of whom promised me that they can evade EU and British customs, and disguise the drugs in discrete packaging, such as cat food.
The opioids are so strong that even trace amounts can trigger a fatal overdose. They have been found mixed into heroin and recreational drugs like cocaine and MDMA, as well as counterfeit painkillers and antianxiety medication like Valium and Xanax
July 30, 2025 at 9:09 AM
The opioids are so strong that even trace amounts can trigger a fatal overdose. They have been found mixed into heroin and recreational drugs like cocaine and MDMA, as well as counterfeit painkillers and antianxiety medication like Valium and Xanax
I spent months reporting this story about nitazenes, which have already killed hundreds of people in Europe and left law enforcement and scientists scrambling to detect them in the drug supply. For comparison, the most common street nitazenes are 50-250 times as potent as heroin.
July 30, 2025 at 9:09 AM
I spent months reporting this story about nitazenes, which have already killed hundreds of people in Europe and left law enforcement and scientists scrambling to detect them in the drug supply. For comparison, the most common street nitazenes are 50-250 times as potent as heroin.