Substituted amphetamines

Greece's anti-drug authorities have arrested two Greek men suspected of being part of a transnational crime ring exporting crystal meth and MDMA to Australia, police said.

They set off from the Netherlands with motorhomes and 130 kilos of ketamine and MDMA, intending to sell them to clients they had arranged to meet in Pelion. Four Ukrainians—three men and one woman (who reportedly was unaware of the drug trade)—permanent residents of the Netherlands, arrived in Pelion with two motorhomes and set up camp in the wider area of Kalá Nerá.

Türkiye, a key transit point for drug trafficking, has seen a dramatic surge in methamphetamine seizures, reaching an all-time high in 2023, according to the latest report from a monitoring body for the implementation of U.N. drug control conventions.

A report by the Security General Directorate's narcotic department has unveiled weak family relationships are a major factor in methamphetamine use.

Examining the latest situation of methamphetamine addiction in the country, which affects the central nervous system and triggers many physical and psychological disorders, the department made remarkable findings.

Trade in the amphetamine-type stimulant captagon in the Middle East grew exponentially in 2021 to top $5 billion, posing an increasing health and security risk to the region, a report said.

Research by the New Lines Institute, to be released Tuesday and seen by AFP, paints an alarming picture of the impact booming captagon production is having on the region.

Bulgarian citizen was arrested in Turkey for drug trafficking across the border, Hürriyet reports.

Turkish authorities found 1118 g of meth, 278 grams of narcotic tablets and 276 g of ecstasy powder in the detained car.

32 people were detained during the large-scale operation.

Spain's police have busted a drug gang led by a 44-year-old Bulgarian woman in Valladolid. 200 kilograms of heroin, amphetamines and marijuana, as well as 45,000 euros, weapons and 12 cars were seized during the large-scale operation.

Police in Athens on Wednesday detained two men and a woman in connection with a crystal methamphetamine laboratory in the city center. 

According to a police statement, a raid on the makeshift lab turned up 3.5 kilograms of meth amphetamine (shisha) as well as various other substances whose chemical composition was unclear.

Financial crimes investigators in the port of Piraeus on Thursday completed a count of a haul of drugs seized at a container terminal last week, saying it consists of more than 33 million counterfeit Captagon pills, containing the powerful psychostimulant fenethylline.

The haul is the biggest of its kind worldwide and has an estimated street value of 500 million dollars.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSS) broke the pipeline for the supply of amphetamine by road from the Netherlands to Russia and detained a Bulgarian citizen from whom 90 kilograms of this substance was seized. This was announced by the FSF press center quoted by TASS and BTA.