International operation exposes drug trafficking network and seizes deadly fentanyl
An international law enforcement operation coordinated by Interpol has seized a record 297 million methamphetamine tablets, along with other narcotics with a combined street value estimated at $6.5 billion, Interpol stated Tuesday.
The two-week crackdown, carried out across 18 countries in Asia and North America, targeted the manufacturing, trafficking, and smuggling of synthetic drugs. Authorities intercepted 76 tonnes of narcotics, including 51 tonnes of meth, as well as fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and drug-base chemicals.
According to Interpol, the seized fentanyl alone could have killed up to 151 million people if sold on the illicit market. In Mexico, authorities confiscated more than 190,000 fentanyl tablets and 1.7 tonnes of meth. Law enforcement arrested 386 individuals, including a most-wanted suspect accused of running a meth-smuggling network through Korea’s Incheon International Airport.
Other notable seizures included LSD and ketamine in India, millions of yaba pills and heroin in Myanmar, nearly four tonnes of meth and production equipment in Laos, MDMA laced with fentanyl and nitazenes in the United States, and 116 kg of xylazine in Indonesia, authorities said.
“The drugs trafficked by transnational criminal networks fuel violence, cripple economies, and endanger public health,” Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said.
“Each successful seizure highlights the power of law enforcement working together to protect lives and dismantle these threats,” he added.
A new lethal drug is reportedly on the rise. Authorities warn of increased trafficking in nitazenes, a group of highly potent synthetic opioids said to be up to 200 times stronger than morphine. Even in small quantities, nitazenes “are enough to be deadly, making them more profitable, easier to transport and increasingly difficult to detect.”
Authorities also warned of a new and rising threat: nitazenes, highly potent synthetic opioids reportedly up to 200 times stronger than morphine. Even in small amounts, they “are enough to be deadly, making them more profitable, easier to transport and increasingly difficult to detect,” according to Interpol.
Pavel Raznokidis