86 per cent of cocaine was found to have 95 per cent purity

An alert has been issued after cocaine tested in Manchester was found to be extremely powerful.

Harm reduction organisation The Loop posted an alert on Twitter after 86 per cent of cocaine tested in Greater Manchester was found to be at least 95 per cent purity. 28 per cent of samples tested were cocaine, and 22 per cent were found to be ketamine.

The Manchester Drug Analysis and Knowledge Exchange, known as MANDRAKE, based at Manchester Metropolitan University tested hundreds of samples of drugs seized by police and security staff across Greater Manchester.

High cocaine alert: 86% of cocaine circulating in Greater Manchester NTE in autumn 2018 tested by #MANDRAKE (n=72) was 95+% purity #StartLowGoSlow https://t.co/KX03rR48Zf — The Loop (@WeAreTheLoopUK) November 20, 2018

14 per cent of cocaine tested was adulterated with substances such as local anaesthetic benzocaine, caffeine, ketamine, and dewormer levamisole.

The MANDRAKE Autumn Report also found that MDMA was the most prevalent substance detected in Greater Manchester, making up 30 per cent of samples tested. The average MDMA tablet contained just over 103mg of the drug.

The University of Manchester Students' Union recently made drug testing kits available to students for the cost of £2.50. These single-use test kits work by adding a small amount of the drug to a reagent liquid, which changes colour depending on the active ingredient.

The Manchester Tab recently published an MDMA harm reduction guide. We also ranked Fallowfield's best drug dealer business cards.

MANDRAKE have been approached for comment.