The recent interception of a large shipment of 1-boc-4-piperidone highlights the critical role of international cooperation in combating the rapidly evolving illicit drug trade. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) reported in its 2025 Annual Report that authorities, using the Board’s pre-export notification platform, successfully prevented the diversion of three tons of this chemical precursor, which could have been used to produce an estimated 1.4 to 3.3 tons of fentanyl—equivalent to 700 million to 1.6 billion doses of the deadly opioid. The case, which occurred in March 2025, exemplifies what the INCB describes as an “international success story” in collaborative efforts to stop illegal drug trafficking.
Professor Sevil Atasoy, INCB President, emphasized that the global drug control conventions have enabled effective cooperation for over six decades, balancing the need to prevent misuse while ensuring the availability of essential medicines. The INCB, an independent quasi-judicial body, monitors compliance with the 1961, 1971, and 1988 international drug control conventions. Governments provide estimates and reports to track the production, trade, and distribution of controlled substances, ensuring they are used only for medical and scientific purposes.
The INCB noted that its cooperative monitoring systems have kept the diversion of legally produced narcotic drugs to illicit markets very low, with the diversion of psychotropic substances virtually halted. In 2025, over 190 countries and territories used the online pre-export notification (PEN) platform to monitor more than 34,000 planned shipments of internationally controlled drug precursors, reinforcing the effectiveness of global collaboration.
Despite these successes, the Board warns that trafficking networks are rapidly adapting. Cocaine remains the fastest-growing illicit drug market, expanding from South America into Asia and Africa. In Europe, cocaine trafficking has increased dramatically, while the manufacture of synthetic drugs continues to rise. North America has seen declines in synthetic drug overdoses, but the Board cautions it is too early to confirm a sustained trend. In Africa, pharmaceutical opioid trafficking, including substandard products, is a growing concern, while South Asia accounts for one-third of the world’s opioid users. Methamphetamine remains the dominant synthetic threat in East and Southeast Asia, with record seizures reported.
The INCB also highlighted persistent inequalities in access to opioid painkillers and other essential medicines, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Many nations struggle to procure morphine-based medications, emphasizing the ongoing need to improve availability and affordability of psychotropic substances. Professor Atasoy stressed that protecting global health from illicit drugs is a shared responsibility, relying on the willingness and capacity of countries to cooperate within the international drug control framework.
