Seventeen people died in Argentina, in the province of Buenos Aires, from serious poisoning caused by the consumption of adulterated cocaine. Another 56 were hospitalized.
Officials said they were working quickly to determine what the cocaine was mixed with, but they also urged those who bought the drug in the past 24 hours not to use it.
Sergio Berni, head of security for the province of Buenos Aires, told the television channel Telefe that the authorities are trying to locate the toxic substance "to remove it from circulation".
About 10 people were arrested after police broke into a house in the poor neighborhood of Tres de Febrero where cocaine is believed to be sold.
The police are not yet able to determine with what element the "amazing killer" was cut, and to this end, drug samples delivered by hospitalized people, or seized during searches carried out by agents, were sent to a specialized laboratory.
(Unioneonline / vl)
