Synthetic opioids account for fifth of addicts needing treatment, Europol reveals

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opioid addiction

Synthetic opioids now account for up to one in five addicts turning up for treatment, according to Europol, as it warned the drugs pose a “growing threat.”

In its annual report, the police agency said the synthetic drugs, which simulate heroin or other opioids, are increasingly being traded online with criminals producing them in countries such as China, India and Russia. It follows similar warnings over other psychoactive drugs like Spice

It said: “‘Entrepreneurs’ can sell synthetic opioids purchased online and thus compete with heroin suppliers, who require a complex infrastructure to transport and protect their product.

“They also create the conditions for organised crime groups to operate in new ways and diversify their interests across illicit products.”

The Europol report estimated the EU heroin trade be worth £6.4 billion, beaten only by cannabis (£9.9 billion) and cocaine  (£7.8 billion).

“High-potency synthetic opioids pose particular challenges for law enforcement and increased risks to health,” said Europol. 

“They are increasingly traded online and dispatched by post, For some synthetic opioids this means that small-volume packages can account for a large number of potential consumer doses.”

“Not only does this increase the challenges for law enforcement but the high potency of some synthetic opioids also results in an increased risk to both consumers and others, who may be accidentally exposed to these substances.”

Europol said it “conservatively” estimated the EU drug market as about £26 billion of which cannabis accounted for about two fifths of this total (39 per cent), cocaine (31 per cent), heroin (25 per cent) and amphetamines and Ecstasy (five per cent).

Organised crime gangs were increasingly using technology to boost demand and aid supply, including social media and the dark web, said Europol.

County lines, where drugs are dispersed from cities to suburban and rural areas often using mobile phones to direct operations, had spread from the UK to other EU countries including Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Ireland and Sweden.

“These are groups based in major cities, expanding their selling operations to provincial towns and almost exclusively supplying heroin and crack cocaine,” said Europol. 

“End users located in these provincial areas are buying directly from dealing networks from the big cities. The provincial towns are considered attractive thanks to the direct access to local users and potentially new customers and the comparatively weak competition from local drug dealers.”

Europol also warned that such was the demand for cannabis that it was leading to environmental damage in major producer countries such as Morocco where the scale of planting was leading to “soil erosion, deforestation and water security issues.”

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