Argentina reels as toxic batch of cocaine kills at least 23

By DÉBORA REY and VICTOR CAIVANO
Associated Press

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A batch of cocaine that has killed at least 23 people in Argentina appears to have been laced with a synthetic opioid, and police are scrambling to get as much of it off the streets as they can. Health authorities say at least 84 have been hospitalized after using the contaminated cocaine, some of whom remain on life-saving respiratory support. The victims were mostly young Argentines from poor neighborhoods around the nation’s capital, Buenos Aires. As of Thursday, Police had confiscated 15,000 small bags of the contaminated drug and arrested seven people. Toxicology tests are not yet complete, but one official investigating what happened said patients have responded well to an antidote used to treat opioid overdoses.