Has Krokodil Hit New York City? Report Says The Flesh-Eating ‘Zombie’ Drug Is Being Sold At NYC Nightclubs

Krokodil, the deadly flesh-eating drug that is believed to have arrived in the U.S., may have just hit New York. According to the Verge, a source said the drug is being sold in at least two New York nightclubs.

Sal Ramirez -- who witnessed krokodil use when he served in the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan -- claimed to have seen a man being thrown out of Le Bain, a club in the city’s Meatpacking District, for attempting to sell krokodil, the Verge reported. Ramirez also said a dealer approached him directly at Westway, another venue in the Meatpacking District, trying to sell him krokodil and “clean syringes” in the bathroom.

“I think it definitely is the novelty,” Ramirez told the Verge, when asked why anybody would want to sample krokodil. “But what people aren’t really that aware of is the fact that it’s superaddictive. If more people knew that the reason it’s called krokodil is because of the effect it has on you, I think they wouldn’t be using it.”

Krokodil is a synthetic opiate made from a mixture of codeine, iodine and toxins such as gasoline, industrial cleaning oil, lighter fluid and paint thinner. Users filter and boil ingredients together, then inject the drug into veins. The result is reportedly more powerful than heroin -- and cheaper.

Krokodil, the Russian word for crocodile, causes the skin to become rough and scaly, leaving many with amputated limbs because of the gangrene that occurs as the flesh rots.

The drug first appeared in Siberia in 2002 before spreading to the rest of Russia. Two weeks ago, there were two reported cases of krokodil use in Arizona, as well as three in Illinois. However, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, DEA, maintains the drug hasn’t hit this country. “We, the DEA, are not seeing cases of it,” DEA representative Dawn Dearden told FoxNews.com. “Nothing’s been turned into any of our labs. As far as the DEA is concerned, we have not seen any cases.”

Watch a Vice documentary about krokodil users in Russia below: