WARNING: this story contains graphic images
Dodgy batches of cocaine containing a medicine that causes people's skin to rot are believed to make up 80% of the cocaine shipped to the UK.
According to tests carried out on seized shipments of the class A drug last year, a large percentage is cut with Levamisole, a powerful de-wormer used on horses and cows.
Levamisole has been banned for human consumption. The medicine causes blood vessels to inflame and rupture, causing skin to turn black, and in extreme cases, rot.
The British Medical Journal documented the case of a 42-year-old female patient, who despite having a clear medical record, suffered from severe joint pains, stomach pains and painful skin lesions after taking the cocaine.
The patient denied substance abuse, and it wasn't until doctors ran toxicological tests on her hair that they discovered the harmful side effects of the cocaine.
Despite suffering horrific skin rot as a side effect of taking the cocaine, the British Medical Journal's report states that the patient relapsed into abusing cocaine.