UN drug alert stops shipment that could have made 1.6 billion lethal fentanyl doses

The interception highlights to vital role of cooperation in tackling the rapidly evolving illegal drugs trade.

In its 2025 Annual Report, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said that authorities used its pre-export notification platform to stop the diversion of three tons of the precursor 1-boc-4-piperidone – a chemical intermediary used in the manufacture of fentanyl.

Had the shipment not been intercepted, it could have been used to manufacture an estimated 1.4 to 3.3 tons of fentanyl – between 700 million and 1.6 billion doses of the deadly street drug.

The case, in March 2025, is one of several examples cited by the INCB to illustrate what it dubs an “international success story” in terms of cooperation.

“Tackling the trafficking and misuse of drugs, while ensuring the availability of essential medicines, has been carried out effectively over the last 60 years through the drug control conventions, a robust framework for working together with almost universal support,” said Board President Professor Sevil Atasoy.

“Our role is to reinforce the cooperative efforts of countries and territories through our work.”

A system built on cooperation

The INCB is an independent, quasi-judicial body mandated to monitor implementation of the three international drug control conventions – adopted in 1961, 1971 and 1988 – which form the backbone of the global drug control system.

Under these treaties, Governments provide it with estimates and statistical reports to monitor the cultivation, manufacture and trade of controlled substances, with the aim of ensuring their availability for medical and scientific purposes only.

According to the report, the efficiency of this system has kept the diversion of legitimately produced narcotic drugs into illicit markets “very low,” while diversion of psychotropic substances – such as heroin and other opioids – has “virtually stopped.”

In 2025 alone, more than 190 countries and territories cooperated through the online pre-export notification (PEN) platform, monitoring over 34,000 planned shipments of internationally controlled drug precursors.

Packages containing cocaine seized by authorities in Ecuador. (file)

New threats, shifting markets

Despite such cooperation, the Board warns that trafficking networks are adapting rapidly.

Cocaine trafficking remains the fastest-growing illicit drug market, with increased production in South America driving expansion into Asia and Africa.

In Europe, cocaine trafficking to Western and Central Europe has “dramatically increased,” while the illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs continues to expand.

In North America, synthetic drug overdoses decreased by 17 per cent in Canada and 27 per cent in the United States, but the Board cautioned that it is “too early to assess whether the decrease will develop into a sustained trend.”

In Africa, trafficking in pharmaceutical opioids – including substandard products – is described as the drug-related issue of greatest concern, while the South Asian region accounts for one third of the world’s estimated opioid users.

Methamphetamine remains the dominant synthetic drug threat in East and Southeast Asia, with record seizures reported.

Access uneven

Even as global supply of opioid painkillers remains stable, the Board highlighted persistent inequalities in access to pain relief medicines, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Many countries continue to report difficulties in procuring medications containing morphine, and increasing availability and affordability of psychotropic substances remains a priority.

“Protecting the health of people around the world from the dangers of illicit drugs is a common and shared responsibility,” Professor Atasoy said.

“The international drug control system relies on the willingness and capacity of countries to work together.”