St Pancras Coroner’s Court

A MAN died after overdosing on drugs laced with super-strength synthetic substances, an inquest heard.

Oscar Brown died after taking a “highly potent” combination in his room at the 88 Arlington Road hostel in Camden Town, in March. Ten people were taken ill that day due to the dangerous street supply.

On Wednesday, Assistant Coroner Sarah Bourke said: “A couple of newer and unusual substances were found in his system.

“We don’t know if Oscar knew what he was taking. Or, if these were contaminants of drugs he was known to take, such as heroin and cocaine.

She added: “What is clear is that in combination those drugs proved fatal for Oscar.”

Ms Bourke told the inquest the “toxic” combination that killed Mr Brown were two “designer drugs”, Phenazepam and Cychlorphine, and the veterinary anaesthetic Medetomidine.

Ms Bourke added: “He would have had to put trust in people who at the end of the day were selling drugs illegally.”

Mr Brown had lived in several Camden hostels for over a decade and a witness statement from the police said his “space was heavily cluttered and unkempt”, adding: “Due to the high volume of hypodermic needles discarded around the room, there were immediate concerns for officer safety.”

Foul play had been ruled out after detectives were brought in to investigate as his room was locked from the inside.

Mr Brown was known to Camden’s addiction service run by Change Grow Live but had struggled to attend appointments, the inquest at Pancras Coroner’s Court was told.

It heard he, as a young man, had a traumatic brain injury and also surgery on his left leg that had left him with a “permanent limp”.

The inquest heard he had “reported feeling to be too tired and too old to still be taking drugs” and that he was “well known in Camden Town”.

He had been “devastated” by the death of his mother, from cancer in September 2024.

Mr Brown was described as “well known in Camden Town” and “well-liked” at 88 Arlington Road, where he was celebrated for his “vast collection of CDs” and was “the first volunteer to go on outings”.

Cychlorphine Scourge

In the same week that Mr Brown’s inquest was heard, officials sent out an alert about the “presence of Cychlorphine” in the street drug supply following the death of three homeless people.

There have been “three confirmed deaths in Camden in the past 10 days linked to this adulterant”, the alert from Change Grow Live (CGL) said.

Islington Council public health team has also put out an alert.

The advice to drug users from CGL this week is to “go low and slow”, don’t use alone, take smaller doses initially.

Elodie Berland, from Streets Kitchen, said: “We are heartbroken and angry over the recent tragic deaths of too many people in our community.

“We are shocked that, with so many needless deaths, there has been little to no public discussion surrounding these tragedies.

“We all have a part to play in making everyone aware of the current crisis and the ever-present danger of circulating drugs.”