The Central Bureau of Police Investigation (CBŚP) was a historical success, breaking up the first methadone-producing laboratory in Poland, a synthetic drug with very advanced addictive potential. The operation, carried out in cooperation with the Department of Drug Crime of the National Police of Ukraine, was the largest specified action aimed at producing synthetic opioids in Europe.
Operation scale
As part of the operation, which included Poland and Ukraine, 7 people were detained, including 3 in Poland and 4 in Ukraine. These detainees were Ukrainian citizens – Semen B., Dmytro S. and Anastasia P. – who managed an illegal laboratory located in the hall close Łódź in Poland. At this location, methadone was produced, a drug for export to European markets, including the Czech Republic, Germany and the United Kingdom. There was a duplicate drug description in Ukraine.
According to the CBS, this was the largest European law enforcement operation in the past of synthetic opioid production. In Poland 175 kg of methadone was secured, and in Ukraine another 20 kg, which together represented 195 kg of this substance in crystalline form. In addition to methadone, 8 another multi-laboratories producing synthetic cathinons, specified as mephedron and Alfa-PVP, were eliminated in Poland and Ukraine.
The CBS besides took over a professional line for the production of opioid drugs, 3 chemical reactors and precursors needed for the production of psychoactive substances. The estimated value of seized drugs, precursors and equipment is about PLN 52 million.
Public wellness risk
Metadone, a synthetic opioid whose action is akin to fentanyl, is an highly dangerous drug, especially in crystalline form, which occurs only on the illegal drug market. The CBS underlines that the seized amount of methadone could possibly kill nearly 4 million adults.
Deputy Commissioner Krzysztof Wrześniowski, spokesperson for the CBŚP, pointed out that "this amount of methadone could kill nearly 4 million adults". This pictorial presentation of the threat posed by the global cartel highlights the importance of this operation for public security.
Drug marketplace developments
Michał Aleksandrowicz, Head of the Department for Combating Organized Drug Crime of the CBŚP, points out that the criminal planet departs from the production of natural drugs, specified as heroin, for cheaper, synthetic substances. Opioids, specified as methadone, are becoming increasingly popular in the drug market, even though their overdose is easier and carries a greater hazard of death than another drugs.
"Polish, illegal laboratories produce mostly cathinons – mephedron, clefedron, or amphetamine. These are stimulants, while opioids like methadone are depressions that act as slowing down," adds Aleksandrowicz.
A fresh trend?
Production of synthetic opioids for export in Poland may be the beginning of a fresh trend in the drug market. Criminal groups, specified as the now broken cartel, are looking for fresh places to produce drugs, carefully observing the reactions of law enforcement. In this case, criminals believed that Poland, where opioid laboratories had not previously been listed, would not be prepared to detect specified activities. However, the CBD effectively decommissioned the laboratory by conducting the operation safely for both officers and bystanders.
Who are they?
The detainees are “chemists”, according to Aleksandrowicz, who did not necessarily gain education in this area but were taught to do so. They have at least respective years of experience in the production of methadone, and 1 individual has played a key function in the criminal group.
The National Prosecutor's Office confirmed that the detainees were temporarily arrested and heard allegations of engagement in an organized criminal group and of the production of a crucial amount of narcotic drugs. They did not confess to the alleged acts, and 2 of them explained.
The investigation is developing and the CBD cooperates with Ukrainian services to full destruct the global cartel liable for the production of dangerous drugs.
Methadone and its threats
Methadone, like fentanyl, is utilized in medicine as an analgesic and in opioid addiction therapy. Organized crime, however, has aired in it an intimate business, and its illegal production and trade pose a immense threat to public health.
According to the National wellness Fund (NFZ), a full of 1716 people were poisoned in 2023 with opioids, of which 95 cases afraid methadone. This increase compared to the erstwhile year, erstwhile there were 74 specified cases. Most of these poisonings occurred as a consequence of misuse of methadone available on prescription. However, it is hard to find whether any of these individuals obtained methadone from illegal sources.
Operation of the CBS and the National Police of Ukraine shows how serious the threat to public wellness is to the production of synthetic opioids, and how crucial global cooperation in combating this kind of crime is.
Continued here:
The CBD liquidated the Ukrainian methadone cartel
