Drug dealers using dental anaesthetic to boost profits
Drug dealers across the UK are using dental anaesthetic to dilute cocaine supplies, it has been revealed.
Officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency have warned that dealers are procuring large volumes of dental anaesthetics to build up the cocaine they sell on the streets. Officers are clamping down on the industry and have seized large amounts of the dental anaesthetics lidocaine and benzocaine; in May alone, officers seized two tonnes of benzocaine, which would account for one fifth of the volume used by dentists in the UK each year.
Cocaine on the street is allegedly only 2 percent pure, with other chemicals and substances used to bulk it up. The dental anaesthetics can be bought for £10 per kilo; once they have been mixed with cocaine, they can be sold for up to £50,000 per kilo.
Officers from the SOCA say they are trying to crack down on dealers, who are endangering people’s lives by mixing cocaine, an already dangerous substance, with other potentially harmful chemicals. Cocaine that has been diluted can be sold cheaper, meaning it is more accessible, especially for younger people. Cocaine is addictive and a casual dalliance can quickly turn into a consuming addiction and police are keen to target dealers so that they can stem the supply of cocaine in the UK.
The dental drugs are completely legal and are often used in the dental industry to prevent patients from experiencing pain during treatments; however, when mixed with cocaine they have a much more severe effect on the body, as they stimulate and exacerbate the effects of cocaine.
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