On its official website, the multilateral organization cited an INCB report, according to which the circulation of this substance continues to be the fastest-growing illicit drug market in the world.

Furthermore, the study indicates that there is an increase in production in South America that is driving expansion into Asia and Africa.

Likewise, trafficking to Western and Central Europe has grown dramatically, while the illegal manufacture of synthetic drugs continues to increase, the text explains.

In Africa, pharmaceutical opioids, including low-quality products, constitute the most worrying problem, while the South Asian region has a third of the estimated global consumers, it indicates. It also notes that methamphetamine is the main threat in East and Southeast Asia, where record seizures are being recorded.

However, the UN highlighted that in 2025, the existence of “an international early warning system allowed for the interception of a shipment of chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl, which could produce up to 1.6 billion potentially lethal doses.”

In its report, the INCB emphasized that this underscored the fundamental role of cooperation in combating illicit trafficking.

The Board is an independent, quasi-judicial body of the United Nations, responsible for monitoring the implementation of international drug control treaties.

Under these agreements, governments provide estimates and statistical reports to monitor the cultivation, manufacture, and trade of substances, in order to ensure their availability exclusively for medical and scientific purposes.

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