A spike in heroin overdoses that claimed 13 lives in five weeks has been linked to a possibly deadly batch of heroin being sold on Sydney streets.
NSW State Coroner Michael Barnes says the "unusually strong or corrupted supply" of heroin is likely to be the reason behind a spike in fatal heroin overdoses between May 2 and June 3.
"In every case, the deceased was found slumped on the floor with a syringe in their hands or needles and drugs paraphernalia strewn next to their body indicating a death shortly after the dangerous substance was injected," he said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Street-level heroin is rarely pure and can sometimes be cut with drugs or compounds that can kill you in one dose," he said.
The majority of those who died were men aged in their 40s and 50s, though the youngest was a 22-year-old man.
Two women died, including a 44-year-old from Lane Cove North and a 53-year-old from Dee Why.
Figures from the NSW Justice Department reveal the deaths occurred right across Sydney.
Mr Barnes warned that heroin had always been dangerous but the recent death spoke highlighted that it's "a gamble not worth taking".
BREAKDOWN OF HEROIN DEATHS:
* Male, 41, Willoughby
* Male, 51, Liverpool
* Male, 28, St Peters
* Female, 44, Lane Cove North
* Male, 52, Silverdale
* Male, 39, Maroubra
* Male, 22, Waterloo
* Male, 48, Waterloo
* Male, unknown, Werrington
* Male, 41, Potts Point
* Male, 48, Woolloomooloo
* Female, 53, Dee Why
* Male, 30, Whalan
