The National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) has intensified the crackdown on drug abuse in Mombasa and Coast at large..

On Tuesday, NACADA acting Chief executive officer Prof. John Muteti said a multi-sectoral team has been deployed to Mombasa to probe the use of Fentanyl by drug users in the county.

According to the authority many injecting drug users in the Coast and Mombasa to be specific are now engaging in multiple drug use, and a possibility of Fentanyl abuse may be rife.

“We have a multi-sectoral team which has been on the ground for some time collecting samples, which we intend to take for analysis at the government chemistry department, and we will produce a report in the next 14 days, we shall communicate the report to the country,” said Muteti.

Although there is no conclusive proof to point out the drug use  in the county, NACADA wants to ensure the drug is not among those currently abused by users.

Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an analgesic (pain relief) and anesthetic.

It is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic.

An overdose of the highly potent opioid can lead to an almost instant death.

The crackdown according to Muteti was informed by the recent viral video suspected to be from the Kenyan Coast which went viral on social media showing a group of drug users intoxicated.

“We have seen some videos circuiting around showing people in bad state of intoxication, we are here to find out what substance they must have consumed, it’s not clear where this videos came from, it’s not clear whether they are from Kenya or which country, but this has forced us to take samples of other drugs to see whether it’s a case of multiple drugs use,” said Muteti.

The Drug authority is now throwing a caution to the public to report cases of multiple drug use to authorities.

Reach out Trust center chief executive officer Taib Abdurahman said the problem of polydrugs is rampant at the Mombasa.

“We have seen incidents of polydrugs, that’s why we are embarking on this investigation to establish which drugs they use, we don’t want to speculate because a report must be informed by findings,” said Taib.

The multi-agency team comprises the Government Chemist, Pharmacy and Poisons Board, Mombasa based Community Based Organizations and officers of the National Government Administration (NGAO).

Players say this may have been attributed to the shocking shortage of Heroin in the market, a possibility that may plunge many drug users to indulge in poly drug use to satisfy their anxiety.

While addressing a joint media briefing MEWA hospital advocacy officer Hussein Taib alleged that the situation has become evident following a sharp rise of the price of the Heroin drug from sh 200 to sh 400 per sachet.

"We are currently experiencing shortage of Heroin, there is a crisis actually because the product has become too expensive and this may result in those who depend on it getting involved in poly drug use here at the coast,” said Husein.

Hussein said so far there is no evidence to prove whether the drug is in the country,but a threat of multiple drug use by users has become rampant in Mombasa.

"Let's not wait until this drug get into our neighbourhoods,we also ask government agencies and customs to be alert and ensure this new drug does not become a threat by finding a space into the market,"said Hussein.