NEW ZEALAND
NATIONAL DRUG INTELLIGENCE BUREAU
JOINT OPERATION OF CUSTOMS, HEALTH & POLICE
IR-01-23-20584
20 July 2023
Michael K
[FYI request #23348 email]
Tēnā koe Michael
Request for information
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request dated 2 July 2023 regarding the synthetic
opioid metonitazene. You requested:
…information about a statement released by the NZ Police facebook page on the 28th of March in 2023.
The statement re-issued a warning about a synthetic opioid Metonitazene as it had been linked to
serious harm in the Auckland region at that time. I would like to know what the serious harm was that
occurred and how many individuals were effected
High Alert, New Zealand’s Drug Early Warning System, originally issued the notification about metonitazene
in October 2022 and re-issued it because an incident indicated the need for continued harm-reduction advice
for public awareness.
Police is not able to comment on or provide details relating to this incident as the matter is currently under
investigation. Your request is therefore refused under section 6(c) of the OIA, where making the information
available would prejudice the maintenance of the law.
A range of anonymised information sources provide input into High Alert and the information gathered is put
through a standardised analysis process. The results of this process determine if there is a risk of further
harm to people who use drugs, which wil result in an alert or notification published on the website. Lower
risk situations may result in a notification being published on a case-by-case basis.
You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision if you are not satisfied with the response to
your request. Information about how to make a complaint is available at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Yours sincerely
Julia Smith
Manager - Intelligence Fusion Teams
New Zealand Police
180 Molesworth Street, Wel ington, New Zealand
P.O. Box 3017, Phone: 64 4 4749499, Fax: 64 4 4987409