Powys residents could be at risk from new and much stronger synthetic drugs which have been found in the county.

In data released by the BBC’s Shared Data Unit, it has been found that a synthetic drug called Bromazolam has been found labelled as diazepam in Powys – despite being much stronger.

The drug was first created in the 1970s and has been used as a 'designer drug'. According to the NHS, the drug was first detected in the UK in 2021.

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According to the NHS, Bromazolam has 'severe' sleep inducing and sedative effects, more so than known effects of etizolam.

“Several reports describe reduced consciousness, memory loss and blackouts, where individuals have difficulty remembering events that occurred while under the influence of the drug (and for several days afterwards)." the NHS explained.

“Often effects are described as fluctuating – the person can quickly change from being sedated, to alert, to sedated again.”

WEDINOS a harm reduction project who undertake testing of street drugs in the UK, found several cases in Powys where Bromazolam was labelled as Diazepam even though it is much stronger.

The NHS found that due to its potency, it is 'impossible' to accurately dose bromazolam powder.

“In pure powder form, one gram is 1,000 doses (TripSit). A few ‘grains’ of powder can be enough to cause overdose," the NHS added.

Instances of the drug have been found in Newtown as well as in the Llandrindod Wells area.

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Professor Rick Lines, Head of the substance misuse programme at Public Health Wales, which runs WEDINOS, said benzodiazepines such as Bromazolam were of particular concern.

“What we find submitted to us is very often what are essentially counterfeit pharmaceuticals on products that are being submitted in very convincing looking packaging - blister packs, branded packets, you know - in every kind of visible sense, the same kind of packet you might get from your chemist on the High Street,” said Professor Lines.

“This is the concern because our assumption is that many of the people who are submitting these are purchasing them with the expectation that they're purchasing a legitimate pharmaceutical product, even if they're probably going outside of their usual routes to do that.”

This comes as concerns have been raised in the UK about the introduction to the drug market of synthetic opiates – some being up to 500 times stronger than heroin.

The data also found that these drugs have also been found disguised as prescription drugs.