A mysterious pink substance is making waves within New York City’s illicit drug scene, law enforcement sources and experts have revealed to The Post. Known as “tusi” or “pink cocaine,” the synthetic drug concoction has appeared in an increasing number of recent narcotics busts, with its most notable user being disgraced businessman Diddy.
Tusi, which originated in Latin America within the last decade, is primarily made up of ketamine and a mix of other narcotics such as MDMA, methamphetamine, opioids, and small amounts of cocaine, depending on who brews the batch. The substance gets its distinctive pink color from food dye. Experts believe that everyone’s concoction will be different from the next person’s.
The drug is not just linked to Latin America but also to a dangerous Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua, which has allegedly expanded into trafficking tusi in New York City. Police sources told The Post that the gang has been selling the drug on street corners in Jackson Heights. However, other pink cocaine-peddling criminals are homegrown.
Tusi first appeared on the NYC Special Narcotics Prosecutor’s Office radar in 2023 when investigators stopped a vehicle with a 10-pound bag of the substance. An Upper East Side woman, Deidra Jackson, was arrested for allegedly selling tusi through the Telegram messaging app.
Another nickname for the drug is the “Diddy Drug,” due to Sean Combs’ alleged use of it. His ex-girlfriend Yung Miami transported the drug for him on a private jet from Miami, Florida, to a Virginia music festival because he wanted tusi but his alleged drug mule forgot it, according to a lawsuit against Diddy.
The loose combination of ingredients in tusi raises the risk of accidental overdose among users. Dealers could also mix fentanyl into already free-wheeling tusi concoctions, which is linked to 200,000 overdose deaths since Biden took office.
Ketamine, the primary ingredient in tusi, can be deadly when mixed with alcohol, and users may mistakenly think their “pink cocaine” will counteract the effects of alcohol. Experts emphasize that people don’t know what they are putting into their bodies when using this mysterious drug.
