Fake pain relief medication is the latest type drug found to contain a dangerous synthetic opioid in Australia.

It was detected in counterfeit pharamceutical drugs that “were almost identical in appearance to oxycodone pills,” the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said.

Oxycodone pills are only legally available with a prescription from a medical professional — a popular brand of he highly-additictive severe pain medication is Endone.

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But counterfit versions of the drug, seized by police in April 2024 and February 2025, were recently found to contain nitazenes.

“Nitazenes are an illicit and dangerous synthetic opioid which can cause serious and unpredictable health effects,” the AFP said.

An overdose on nitazenes can look like a loss of consciousness, shallow or stopped breathing, bluish-purple skin, and slow or erratic pulse.

Nitazenes are considered 10 times more potent than fentanyl, and can be found in the form of powder, tablets, nasal sprays, and vape liquids.

Eight imports have been intercepted at Australian borders during the 15 months leading to March 2025 — Canada, the UK, and Hong Kong are among the countries the drugs were sent from, with most sent through international mail.

Nitazenes have also been detected in counterfeit pain relief medication discovered in NSW, QLD, VIC and the ACT in recent months.

But AFP said it does not have any reason to believe that nitazenes are being manafactured in Australia.

‘We cannot understate the dangers’

AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner Paula Hudson said the number of seizures of counterfit medication containing nitazenes has called for a fresh warning.

“There is no safe dosage when it comes to nitazene,” she said.

“We cannot understate the dangers which surround any use of this illicit and highly potent drug.

“If you choose to take it, you are gambling with your life.”

She warned that those who take the drug are not the only ones at risk of its dangerous side effects.

Synthetic opioids are so potent that frontline workers, such as nurses, doctors, and law enforcement officers, can be exposed to their dangerous health impacts when treating people who consume them, Hudson said.

“Those who consume counterfeit pharmaceuticals have no idea what they are putting in their body and the potential health impacts they could face,” she said.

Hudson warned people to only consume pharmaceuticals which have been prescribed and dispensed by registered health practitioners and pharmacists.