Clubland 'drug dealers' passing off paracetamol for cocaine could be prosecuted for fraud.
Selling crushed paracetamol tablets to party-goers is a well-known nightlife con.
But with possessing the medication legal, officers have struggled to combat the problem.
Dealers know passing off paracetamol for the Class A substance is an easy ruse.
They know those being duped cannot go to the police without admitting they were trying to break the law themselves.
And punters can be reluctant to challenge the dealers on the streets of Liverpool city centre.
Meanwhile, they cannot be prosecuted for drugs offences if they are stopped by police.
However, the ECHO understands Merseyside Police is instead looking at prosecuting them for fraud.
At least one case is currently going through the region's courts on this basis, the suspect accused of having "in your possession or under your control an article, namely crushed paracetamol, for use in the course of or in connection with a fraud".
The news was welcomed by John Hughes, chair of the Liverpool Nightlif e Community Interest Company.
He said: "Liverpool is one of the safest, if not the safest, nights out in the country and a lot of partnership work is being done to make sure people are safe.
"We have seen kids going into shops to buy paracetamol and literally crushing it up as they leave. This is an issue that causes concern.
"A lot of these young people are probably getting exploited themselves and this also puts them at risk by creating the potential for confrontation after their victims realise what has happened.
"Efforts to put an end to this are welcome."
