DRUG SUPPLIER LINKED TO NITAZENE DEATHS ADMITS TO MAKING MORE THAN 5,000 INDECENT IMAGES OF CHILDREN
A drug supplier linked to the deaths of at least two individuals due to powerful Class A drugs known as nitazenes has confessed to multiple criminal offenses following an investigation by the National Crime Agency.Polish citizen Robert Poleszak, aged 45, had previously acknowledged supplying cocaine and nitazenes substances approximately 1,000 times stronger than morphine when he appeared at Reading Crown Court on 28 May.
He also admitted to producing 5,134 images of children involved in indecent acts categorised as Level A, possessing extreme pornography, and facing 20 charges related to drug conspiracy, including the supply of cocaine, crack cocaine, and methylamphetamine.
Residing on Elgar Road in Reading, Poleszak pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply nitazenes, a synthetic opioid linked to over 1,000 fatalities in the UK since June 2023.
Additionally, he admitted to possessing and producing illicit material and operating on the dark web, where he marketed various controlled substances, such as Oxycodone.
Typically prescribed for pain, Oxycodone was sold in up to 200-pill batches, often containing dangerous substances like Isotonitazene.
NCA investigations tracked over 100 sales of Oxycodone made by Poleszak, with numerous customer reviews indicating overdoses and hospitalizations due to these drugs, which were found to contain nitazenes.
Police identified Poleszak, who also used the alias Krzysztof Wozniak, by following packaging he shipped from a Post Office on Broad Street in Reading to his customers.
He was detained on 1 October 2025, and searches of his residence uncovered a laboratory, drug paraphernalia, and evidence including powders, pill dyes, scales, masks, and filters.
A video on his phone revealed him operating a pill press.
His criminal activities have been linked to the death of a drug user in Cornwall in February 2025, where it is believed Poleszak supplied pills containing Isotonitazene, which resulted in fatal overdose.
Further, in May, another individual in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, died after ingesting 19 green nitazene pills found in their bedroom, alongside packaging bearing Poleszak's fingerprints.
The investigation is scheduled for sentencing on 17 July 2026.
