A DANGEROUS designer drug nicknamed pink cocaine is hitting British clubs after being smuggled into the UK through Colombian cartels.
The drug – a mixture of ketamine and MDMA – is set to be this summer’s narcotic of choice after first being discovered at UK festivals last year.
Experts have warned it can contain a potentially lethal mix of ‘dealers leftovers’ – putting users at risk of blurred vision, panic attacks, anxiety, addiction and heart problems.
One user told The Sun: “It’s all the rage in clubs and at after-parties.
“It’s just a fun, trippy drug perfect for festivals. It used to be really hard to get your hands on but it's easier to find now, so everyone is keen to have a snort and see what it's like."
Pink cocaine, also known as Tuci, 2cb or Rosada, has already been found in Manchester and at a festival in rural Lincolnshire. We also spoke to users who came across it in Sheffield.
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It originates from the Colombian city of Medellin, where it has its own genre of Gauracha music and is linked to the sex trade.
It originally contained traces of the hallucinogenic drug 2cb popular with hippies in the 1970s.
But it has now evolved into a mix of drugs and has been described in South America as "very millennial" and the "Coca-Cola of drugs".
Testing at Manchester's Drug Analysis and Knowledge Exchange revealed batches found in the city contained cocaine, ketamine and MDMA, more commonly known as Ecstasy.
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According to the Pill Report, which gives advice on Instagram, it is a “lucky dip” drug.
In one post, they wrote: “The s*** your dealers’ selling as Tuci is probably a plain old mix of ketamine and MDMA, with none of that elusive 2C-B.
“It’s a bit of a lucky dip too, as lab tests frequently find caffeine, 3-MMC (another designer drug) and other synthetics.
“The amounts of each substance change wildly from batch to batch, so you’ll never get the same high twice. It’s called ‘dealers’ leftovers in Holland as it’s literally the sweep of whatever’s in the bottom of the bag, then dyed pink to make it look pretty.”
Last year a British drugs gang was busted for dealing from a base in Ibiza. They were caught with 13 kilos of pink cocaine, with a street value of £1.1 million.
Twelve people were arrested on the island and another two in Colombia, where they had travelled to negotiate deals.
The Guardia Civil described the mini cartel, armed with a sub machine gun and silencer, as mainly British and “of a very violent nature” who specialised in stealing from other drugs gangs.
Despite the massive bust, pink cocaine has already made its way to British shores.
Drugs checking service The Loop found batches of Tuci at the hippy Lost Village Festival held in secluded woodland near sleepy Norton Disney in Lincolnshire last year.
The alternative event sees visitors explore an 'abandoned' world with dilapidated buildings, old junkyards and hidden gardens.
We spoke to two users who also came across Tuci at a post-clubbing party in Sheffield.
Sarah (not her real name), 34, said: “It was £40 a gram so about the same price as MDMA and we snorted it.
“The effect lasts for about four hours.”
Her partner, 31, added: “It’s like Ecstasy but way more vivid.
“Everything feels nice and euphoric and happy. You find everything funny and get the giggles.
“It has a shimmery, trail effect on your vision.”
Latest statistics show that 4,859 Brits lost their lives to drugs in 2021 – 67 to Ecstasy.
In Columbia in 2021 a gang known as the Tecno was caught selling Tuci laced with the powerful opioid fentanyl, a drug which has ravaged America.
More than 70,000 addicts in the US lose their lives to fentanyl each year and health workers fighting the crisis say it's a losing battle.
In Columbia, a Vice investigation found cartels fighting over the supply of pink cocaine.
A documentary maker watched as dealers cooked up batches – admitting theysometimes put fentanyl in the drug.
There is no evidence hugely addictive fentanyl has been found in pink cocaine in the UK but police in Columbia said the Tenco gang were DJs with international fans who attended gigs.
Experts have long warned against the dangers of mixing drugs which can result in severe vomiting, paranoia, anxiety and collapse.
Dr Hannah Thurgur, a researcher at the Drugs Science charity, said: “Mixing drugs can be dangerous.
“For example, missing two depressant drugs like alcohol and benzos is particularly risky as this can drastically slow down breathing and heart rate.
“Pink cocaine is an emerging drug. The challenge comes in knowing what else it could be mixed with which is why we need more projects which will check drugs for users.
“In Bristol there’s a night time harm reduction project for drugs and plans for a drugs checking service for people to test what they are taking.
“We would like to see more of these across the UK.
“We’re optimistic that the drugs landscape can really change with more cities adopting harm reduction rather than zero tolerance.”
A United Nations report into the rise of Tuci said the mix with ketamine can cause heart and breathing issues as well as bladder problems, panic, slurred speech and a worsening of existing mental health issues.
Guy Jones, senior chemist of The Loop charity, told MixMag magazine: “Mixing drugs always make those drugs’ effects way less predictable
“The complication is that there is no single pink Tuci.
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“You might have someone that’s used to Tuci that’s 30 per cent MDMA, then buy a batch that’s 60 per cent. They might think they want to go really hard tonight, so take twice as much – but they’ve actually taken four times their normal dose.”
But it is unlikely to deter curious clubbers as the pink menace that is Tuci hits Britain.
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