Curse of the Krokodil: Fears as home-made heroin that's rotting Russian addicts' flesh spreads across Europe
- Dubbed 'the drug that eats junkies'
- Majority of addicts die within one year of first hit
- 1.2million addicts in Russia
- Cases now reported in Germany
A deadly drug which rots the flesh of users - and kills the majority of addicts within a year of their first hit - is spreading across Europe.
Krokodil originated in Russia but is now reportedly on sale in Germany - where several deaths have been blamed on its use - leading the Czech Republic's national drug agency to warn of its dangers.
Dubbed 'the drug that eats junkies', it rots from the inside, causing such severe damage to tissue that users suffer from gangrenous sores which open all the way to the bone.
Scroll down for graphic video on effects of Krokodil
Krokodil: Dubbed 'the drug that eats junkies', it turns its users' skin scaly, eating them from the inside. It also rots their brains
The condition can lead to limbs being amputated, but life expectancy for addicts is at the most two to three years, with the majority dying within a year.
Extraordinarily, around 1.2 million Russians are believed to have been ravaged by the narcotic, Time magazine has reported.
The drug, whose name means 'crocodile' - reportedly a reference to the way it turns users' skin scaly - also rots their brains.
Krokodil is a sickening cocktail of over the counter painkillers, paint thinner, acid and phosphorus. In some cases, petrol is also added.
The resulting mixture is called desomorphine - a derivative of morphine - and is extremely addictive.
Gangrenous: Krokodil causes extreme tissue damage, killing the majority of users within a year of their first hit
At just £4 per injection it is a much cheaper alternative to heroin, especially in Russia where the painkillers are available without prescription.
The drug's prevalence in Russia has led to the Czech Republic's national anti-drug agency to warn heroin addicts not to switch to the alternative.
Spokesman Michal Hammer said that although no cases had been reported in the country, its arrival in Germany would eventually see it cross the border.
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