Europol claims criminal organisations dealing in new psychoactive substances, most of which operate in the mainland, are getting more active
RAQUEL.CARVALHO@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Tuesday, 31 May, 2016, 6:20pm
The drug haul of 717 kilograms of methamphetamine in May was the largest by police in Guangdong province this year. Photo: Xinhua
China has become “the chemical and pharmaceutical wholesaler and retailer of new psychoactive substances to the world”, a Europol report issued last month said.
The study, which analysed drug markets, warned authorities that given the large profits and low risk of production and distribution of new psychoactive substances, which include legal highs, “it is possible that criminal organisations will become even more active”.
The EU Drug Markets Report 2016 is the second overview of illicit drug markets in the European Union by Europol and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Its conclusions add weight to previous reports, which singled out China – and its expanding pharmaceutical industry - as playing an increasingly important role in the international drug trade.
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A UN report last year identified Hong Kong and the mainland as key players in the Asian narcotics trade, as corruption within China’s pharmaceutical industry has been pointed out as a key factor in Guangdong becoming the production centre. But China’s chemical industry, as the new study shows, is not just going big in Asia.
It only costs some €100 (HK$863) to send one kilogramme of a substance from China to Europe – which, depending on the substance, can equate to tens of thousands of individual doses.
The process, according to the 188-page report, is fast and efficient, as most of the substances go unnoticed when they cross borders. The substances are shipped from China to Europe using express mail and companies that can deliver directly to the purchasers’ door in as little as two days.
Once in Europe, such substance may be processed and packaged into a range of products, which are then made available either on the open market or directly on the illicit drug market.
Researchers noted that the combination of modern transport networks, the internet, low labour costs and the rapid growth of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, particularly in China and India, has facilitated the development of this large market.
A Chinese solider standing guard over the confiscated items in Dongguan in Guangdong province. Photo: Xinhua
“The precursors used in the manufacture of most traditional illicit drugs are generally produced legally by legitimate firms and then diverted to illicit ends,” the study said. But the “new psychoactive substances and their precursors are predominantly made in Asia, particularly China and to a lesser extent India.”
A key characteristic of the Asian chemical sector, including China, is that it is made up of a large number of comparatively small companies. “This makes the implementation of in-country controls more difficult because of the large number of sources of chemicals and potential opportunities for diversion,” the report noted.
Two managers of pharmaceutical businesses in the mainland told the Post that drug companies are currently under strict requirements and heavy supervision by authorities.
In March last year, Polish law authorities seized 7,000 litres of BMK - a commonly used precursor to manufacture amphetamine and methamphetamine, also known as meth or Ice, which had been shipped from China. Links with an amphetamine production site in the Netherlands were later established.
The report also mentioned a website selling new substances that had been shut down and that shortly after reopened. Authorities in Hungary found that another group had cloned the original site as it had a well-established client base.
The group sold EUR 35,000–40,000 of products per week, the study described. “When one substance was banned, they quickly sold off the remaining stock and ordered new uncontrolled analogues from China,” the study read.
“Part of the challenge of new psychoactive substances is that while they are often made to mimic synthetic drugs like methamphetamine or ecstasy that are under international control, they are chemically different and so not yet controlled or illegal,” said Jeremy Douglas, regional representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for the Southeast Asia and the Pacific. “Organised crime is definitely involved in new psychoactive substances’ production and trafficking, and because new psychoactive substances are such a challenge to the existing international control system they are able to stay one step ahead of the law,” he noted.
This article appeared in print on May 29.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1960476/china-fast-becoming-europes-drug-wholesaler-report-warns
