The deadly ‘Z drugs’ sparking misery in UK town as junkies terrorize shops & locals warn kids young as TWELVE addicted

TWO decades ago, boxer Shaun James had his sight set on Olympic gold and becoming king of the ring.

But today, the homeless 49-year-old is wandering the streets while in the grip of an addition to dangerous ‘Z-drugs’. 

Zopiclone, which has flooded the streets of Stockton-on-Tees, is prescribed legally by doctors for insomnia.

However, the tablets – a class of non-benzodiazepine drugs known collectively as Z-drugs – are also available on the black market, where often-contaminated batches from China are sold online and on the street.

Last summer, one man died in the town and seven others were rushed to hospital after taking pills from a bad shipment.

Zopiclone produces feelings of euphoria and tranquility and is also known among users as zimmers. It’s understood to sell for between £1 to £5 per 7.5mg tablet. 

Now, as part of The Sun’s investigation series Hooked, which examines the drug problems afflicting towns up and down the country, we spoke to users of the dangerous street pills and the proud community members fighting back.

Shaun said: “I am a slave to crack cocaine, Zopiclone and Pregabalins.

“I get my drugs from the same person in China. I have them posted, and I know it is good stuff.

“If people pay cheap prices, they are going to get s***. It’s like anything. If you pay more you get better product.

“One time I bought Spice which wasn’t in a packet. It was loose. I took it and immediately knew it was wrong. 

“I walked around the street for 24 hours in my bare feet and I got beat up.

“I suffered a bleed on my brain and my heart stopped five times.

“Thankfully someone called an ambulance and I was saved.”

Death hotspot

Shaun says he became seriously addicted to drugs after he was released from a long prison sentence. He had nowhere to go and fell in with the wrong crowd.

He added: “I boxed in Los Angeles and was looking at the Olympics, that’s when I screwed my life up.

“I smoked a bit as a teen but once I got out of prison I went downhill.

“I look at kids now and try get them into boxing but young people don’t listen.”

Stockton had the highest number of drug-related deaths in the region between 2020 and 2021.

The stats showed that 123 people lost their lives across the town and in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool.

Addict Lee Kent spends each day trying to find a place to lay his head.

The 45-year-old said: “It was heroin that got me to begin with.

The drugs took my life away

Lee Kent

“I was going to the chemist for years to get methadone and one day I decided to knock it on the head. That was the worst pain I’ve ever been in.

“I tried Zopiclone but now I am addicted to crack cocaine.

“People in Stockton are addicted to all sorts. The streets are riddled with contaminated drugs. They are all over.

“I used to live in Hartlepool but it is worse in Stockton. I was a joiner and I tried to run my business but I f***** it up.

“The drugs took my life away.”

Crack dens

Down the road, the scars of the town’s addition troubles are evident in the boarded-up windows of a recently shut drugs den, which had been at the centre of dealing and anti-social behaviour.

Stockton Council, working with Cleveland Police, secured a three-month closure order on the property on Durham Road at Teesside Magistrates’ Court earlier this month.

The court heard a constant stream of addicts were arriving at the house to buy drugs.

One local tells us: “It was blatant what was going on. People were turning up and asking for two bags for ten or two for 15.

“They would knock on the windows and leave. I think they were doing all sorts of drugs.

“I saw people smoking crack but they were selling Zopiclone and blue tablets.

“Police cars would be out the front while they would deal at the back, it was that bad.”

I see the dealing. They stand outside and do it, they don’t bother about hiding it anymore

Mohammed Anwar

The woman adds: “Stockton has had a problem for years but so has the North East in general.

“It makes you sad. People in the town are desperate to get money for a feeling that will last them 20 minutes.”

Stark warning

Nearby, Mohammed Anwar runs a convenience store.

The businessman is regularly greeted by the sight of dealers plying their trade in broad daylight outside his shop.

The 65-year-old said: “I see the dealing. They stand outside and do it, they don’t bother about hiding it anymore.

“They are not scared of anybody.

“People go in and out of certain houses and you know what they’re doing.

“Sometimes we get groups of four, five, or ten and they steal our stuff and run.

“The police come but they’re already gone and we lose out.

“There used to be lots of friendly older people living here but these days it’s all rental and it’s not nice people.

“I don’t know what it is they deal but you see users quickly put it in their pockets.

“They seem to smoke drugs and cigarettes.

“People fall down so many times on the street. Ambulances come and then they get taken to hospital.

“Kids as young as 12 years old come into the shop and are high.

There are so many who die from it. But it doesn’t stop

Mohammed Anwar

“They come in coughing and there’s nothing behind their eyes.

“It’s very sad. These are children.

“A few years ago a lady died from an overdose in a house along from the shop.

“There are so many who die from it. But it doesn’t stop.”

Police issued a stark warning on social media after one user died and seven more were rushed to hospital when they took Zopiclone from a contaminated batch last year.

Early reports suggested the drugs may have been contaminated, but no evidence was found on testing. It has been suggested that the varying strengths of batches could be contributing to overdoses.

As recently as last month two others were found unconscious in separate incidents after taking pills from another bad batch of Zopiclone.

Jim Howes has lived in Stockton for 22 years.

The industrial town is famed for its engineering history and was home to the world’s first passenger railway, built in the 1800s.  

But Jim, in his 50s, said: “I used to be proud of the area but nowadays, not so much.

“To walk past the house which has now been shut down was intimidating.

“You can tell when people are high on drugs. 

“In Stockton, it used to be an occasional smell of cannabis but now there seems to be this new problem of lots of drugs.

It’s a vicious circle when people become unemployed and turn to drugs

Jim Howes

“Whatever these drugs are, it makes people aggressive, violent and intimidating.

“It’s often women in their 30s and 40s who you see high and sometimes they are upset.

“It’s a vicious circle when people become unemployed and turn to drugs.

“But once you’re on drugs you can’t get employed.”

Another local, who didn’t want to be named, told us she has twice had to resuscitate addicts on the street.

Rehab hope

But crucially, the town still has hope.

Last month, Stockton Council received a fresh £2.5million boost from the Government to help tackle the crisis.

The Moses Foundation is also a beacon of light and the charity currently has 16 of its users in rehab.

Tucked away behind a block of flats, you would never know of its existence, but behind its doors vital work is being done.

They have drop-in sessions Tuesday to Friday, and on Mondays they take recovering addicts on trips.

CEO Brian Jones, 72, says: “Our one and only aim is to try to change these people’s lives.

“We do different activities to take their minds off drugs and remove them from that environment.

“Two years ago I took two lads in their 40s to Saltburn. They had never visited the seaside in their lives.

“The main issue at the moment is the Zopiclone tablets going round.

“Spice is in the background but it’s mainly crack cocaine and tablets.

“There is Zopiclone and Pregablins which are the main tablets.

“These Zopiclone tablets are often contaminated because they are bought from China.

“The box and tablets look like the real thing but often are not.

“Doctors struggle to come up with detox plans because they don’t know what addicts are detoxing from.

“There was a faulty batch of Zopiclone and people were dying like flies not long ago.

“Sometimes the drugs are mixed with fentanyl, which is a killer too.

“The contamination comes from manufacturers in China.”

Brian added: “Stockton town centre is quite a poor place.

“There’s lots of hardship and people are coping with that by taking drink and drugs.

“We had the shipyard and British Steel but all that has now gone.

“Stockton is a funny place because on the outside there is wealth and million-pound houses.

“But the centre itself is bad and it struggles.”

Councillor Pauline Beall, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said: “We know it is vital that residents receive the right support when dealing with complex issues such as addiction, and over the last few years, we have worked hard to increase access to drug treatment services.

“Increased staffing levels have created more avenues for referrals, for example through mental health support, outreach, hospital-based treatment and hostel-based treatment.

“The drug strategy grants provided by Government have helped boost our work alongside a range of partners like Change Grow Live, Recovery Connections, Cruse and Alliance Psychology to ensure high-quality support services are available for our residents in need of help.

“In fact, here in Stockton-on-Tees we are the national lead for reduced waiting times for assessments, with same-day assessments now in place.

“And of course we work alongside partners in neighbouring local authorities, the Police, substance use services, the NHS and local charities such as The Moses Project to warn people of the potential risks relating to street-bought tablets.”

A spokesman for Cleveland Police said: “All drug and alcohol related deaths are reviewed by the force and associated drugs are seized and tested for possible synthetic contamination. This testing process also takes place when concerns are raised with us regarding suspected contamination in drugs.

“We work closely with partners including Stockton Borough Council, the NHS, and charities to ensure that people are informed should there be potential contamination, and that warnings regarding the risks associated with street-bought tablets.”