Additional Overdoses, Deaths Linked to Dangerous Batch of Heroin

A total of 12 heroin-related overdoses were reported in Atlantic County over the weekend, including two fatalities, Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain said Monday night.

On Saturday, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office reported five overdoses and one fatality related to a batch of heroin contained in a plastic bag with the words “1 Stop” written in purple.

The number of fatalities and overdoses has increased, and additional instances of heroin contained in bags with that label, as well as bags labeled “hunger games” have been reported.

It has also been reported that, during the same weekend, approximately twenty (20) overdoses in total were treated at three local South Jersey hospitals that serve both Atlantic and Cumberland Counties.

Preliminary reports have linked both brands to overdoses in which victims survived, and to the fatalities, although the determination with certainty of the sources of the heroin and the cause of death are pending further investigation and toxicological analysis.

The Atlantic County overdoses occurred both in Atlantic City and in mainland municipalities.