Controversial ‘krokodil’ – drug is real, says paramedic
The paramedic quoted in the first story re-affirmed this week that he had come across two cases.
WE stand by our story two weeks ago: The new deadly drug, ‘krokodil’, is in circulation on the South Coast.
Police spokesmen said they knew nothing about it and even accused us of being ‘sensational’. Others said on social media that we were just trying to ‘sell more newspapers’.
The same was said of us several years ago when we warned that ‘whoonga’ was the new, fashionable fix.
Now nobody will dispute that.
The paramedic quoted in the first story re-affirmed this week that he had come across two cases.
However, the two did not want to be hospitalised and, therefore, he could not officially identify them. He also did not want to be named, but said he felt morally obliged to alert people that ‘the krokodil’ is lurking out there.
Dr Prakash Naidoo, from the Assisted Recovery Centres of Africa (ARCA), confirmed that he knew about this new drug and he was ‘terrified’ that it would become widely used. He had not come across any cases yet.
Meanwhile, the paramedic who spoke to the Mail on condition of anonymity, said two addicts, from Port Shepstone and Hibberdene respectively, had contacted him complaining that their bodies ‘felt as though they were on fire’.
They refused to give him permission to take them to hospital and insisted that he treat them at the scene.
The paramedic said the physical symptoms of withdrawal were similar to that of heroin, but much worse.
Afterwards, he did some research. Based on his on-line investigations, he was convinced that the two he had treated had been taking ‘krokodil’.
Damage caused by injecting the drug had already caused extreme ulcerations. Inevitably, these would become infected and gangrenous.
A discoloured scale-like skin resembles that of a crocodile, hence the name.
“Lesions which are consistent with the use of krokodil, had already appeared on one of the addict’s legs with the other addict exhibiting signs of edema, also on the legs,” he said.
The two addicts told the paramedic that they had gone back to their dealer, complaining that the drug they were supplied with was not the usual. They claimed that the highs were more intense, but much shorter and withdrawals setting in faster. The dealer apparently said he was not aware of what drug it was, only that it was ‘heroin-based’ and supplied to him as ‘stock to be sold’.
