A total of 21 people have died and 23 remain hospitalized, eight of them with respirators, for consuming adulterated cocaine in an area on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, official Argentine sources reported this Friday.
The number of deaths rose in the last hours to 21 after confirming the death this Friday of a person who was on a mechanical respirator.
The Ministry of Health of the province of Buenos Aires maintains the epidemiological alert in force in hospitals for the treatment of patients with probable opiate intoxication.
This case, which came to light last Wednesday, has generated great social commotion in Argentina and put on the table the need to strengthen the fight against drug trafficking and addictions.
The testimony of one of the addicts allowed the police forces to verify that the adulterated drug was bought in the vicinity of Puerta 8, an emergency settlement located in the town of Tres de Febrero, in the province of Buenos Aires.
Local and federal justice carried out operations at various points that allowed the seizure of between 12,600 and 13,600 doses ready for consumption and that were packaged in a similar way to those acquired by the victims.
In addition, a dozen people were arrested, including JoaquÃn Aquino, alias el Paisa, who had an arrest warrant since 2018.
This Friday, official sources confirmed that Paisa, the main detainee for the sale of adulterated cocaine, was expelled from Argentina.
El Paisa, of Paraguayan nationality, had been arrested by police forces last Thursday after intense operations carried out throughout the north and west of the Buenos Aires suburbs.