3 key findings on synthetic drugs from La La In INCB

The rapid proliferation of synthetic drugs is the resizing of illicit markets worldwide, according to the latest set of reports from the International Narcotic Control Council (INCB).

Reports about drugs and chemical precursors Published on March 4, it indicates that, despite international drug controls, synthetic drug producers continue to exploit legal gaps and adapt their manufacturing methods to evade the authorities. This allows them to produce methamphetamine, fentanil, MDMA and dozens of other synthetic cocktails in large quantities.

As a result of this constant evolution, the authorities are facing more and more complex drug markets, with an increasing number of new psychoactive substances (NP) and combinations, as well as “designer” – compounds created in clandestine laboratories specially designed for the manufacture of synthetic drugs – which fall into international rules.

See also: The way the precursor chemicals support the synthetic drug trade in Mexico

Although these trends are not new and the warnings regarding the synthetic drugs have been included in the previous reports of the INCB, this year the organization highlights the speed with which these substances have multiplied and spread.

“Synthetic drugs offer illicit actors practically unlimited ways to reshape drug markets,” said César Arce Official presentation of reports.

Below, we break down three key discoveries from reports on synthetic drugs in Latin and Caribbean.

Synthetic drug markets extend throughout the region

Due to the approach to the United States, one of the largest drug use markets in the world, Mexico was the epicenter of synthetic drug production in the Western hemisphere for decades. But INCB reports show a constant expansion of these markets in other countries in the region.

While cocaine traffic remains the main source of income for many criminal networks, production and methamphetamine traffic in Central America has increased over the past two years. The reports note that Costa Rica confiscated a record of 580,000 doses of methamphetamine in 2023, while the authorities in Trinidad and Tobago have disassembled a methamphetamine production laboratory. Meanwhile, El Salvador has reported an increase in methamphetamine transport in Guatemala over the past four years.

Although not all countries have provided standardized and reliable drugs of drug use, the available information suggests that the consumption of methamphetamine increases on the continent.

See also: How “Walter White” took the production of Meth to São Paulo

INCB also highlights the appearance and extension of different NPURs. In the last year, early warnings were issued on the new types of synthetic marijuana in Brazil, synthetic stimulants in Argentina – such as phenidists – and various synthetic opioids in Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Uruguay. Between 2023 and 2024 the authorities of El Salvador and Guatemala began to catch cougha synthetic cocktail that usually mixes ecstasy and ketamine, which has has gained popularity in South America over the past five years. Costa Rica also reported an increase in mixtures of fentanel drugs.

According to the Arce, the increasing complexity on drug markets has made more difficult supervision and prohibition efforts.

“Unfortunately, we are always on the way behind organized crime innovations,” he said during the report.

A greater collaboration between Mexican criminal networks and Europe, Asia and Africa

The globalization of synthetic drug markets has facilitated the exchange of knowledge between criminal networks around the world.

INCB highlights the case of methamphetamine manufacturers in Mexico, who have maintained connections with the Drug trafficking networks in 2010, to change scientific knowledge.

“Relationships consolidated between traffic networks based in Mexico and Europe could lead to a greater exchange of synthetic precursor and completed drugs,” says one of the reports.

Sharing knowledge can also become more common with criminal actors from other parts of the world. According to the reports, in 2024, the Indian authorities dismantled a methamphetamine production network related to a Mexican criminal organization. In the same year, the South African authorities detected methamphetamine laboratories on an industrial scale with settings that “look closely at methamphetamine laboratories,” according to INCB.

Moreover, reports warn that Mexican criminal networks could exploit the current heroine deficiency in Europe – caused by decreased production in Afghanistan – to extend their sales of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and nitasenes.

“This would continue to complicate the European and North -American synthetic supply chains, introducing a crossing of scientific expertise, knowledge exchange and traffic methodologies,” a report notes.

Synthetic opioid markets adapt

The increasing fenntanil’s poll – due to its role in hundreds of thousands of deaths in overdose in North America – has forced distribution networks to seek new strategies to support its operations.

In order to compensate for losses, traffickers complement the illicit fentanel deliveries with deviated or stolen medical quality from pharmacies and medical institutions, according to INCB.

Although reports do not mention specific cases, recent incidents in Latin America illustrate this trend. For example, on March 3, the Peruvian authorities confiscated 6,000 medical units deviated from pharmacies, allegedly intended for shipment to the United States. Similarly, at the end of 2024, US authorities disassemble an Internet -based Internet Counterfeit pharmacy scheme Operated from the Dominican Republic, which has sold drugs with fentanel lace worldwide.

Finally, INCB notes that criminal networks have also begun to divert veterinary products, such as xilazine, to increase fentanel shipment volumes. They also introduced stronger synthetic opioids, such as carfentanil derivatives.

This is aligned with Investigations on previous crime Documenting the way in which Mexican producers have implemented these strategies to meet the supply deficiencies caused by the law enforcement and criminal conflicts.

Image presented: A confiscation of methamphetamine to the border between Argentina and Bolivia in September 2024. Credit: Misteri de Seguridad de Argentina