Customs has seized record amounts of pregabalin and clonazepam this year – smuggling of narcotic medicines clearly on the rise

According to the statistics on customs offences, the quantities of seized narcotic medicines have increased considerably during the first half of 2024. Customs has seized particularly large amounts of the narcotic medicines pregabalin and clonazepam; the amounts seized during the first half of the year are already clearly larger than the amounts for the entire year 2023. Attention must also be paid to the smuggling of other medicines abused for narcotic purposes; this may be a sign of a change in drug crimes on a more general level.

The number of seizures of narcotic medicines has increased notably in the beginning of the year. In 2023, Customs seized 431,000 tablets of narcotic medicines in total. This year, the number of seized tablets is already more than 500,000, and narcotic medicines in powder form have also been seized.

– The abuse of narcotic medicines is a concerning phenomenon, and the record high growth in the number of seized amounts of medicines during the beginning of the year is a harsh indicator of this, says Director of Enforcement Hannu Sinkkonen.

According to the statistics on customs offences and the laboratory examinations performed by Customs, especially the seized amounts of pregabalin, clonazepam and alprazolam, which are classified as narcotic medicines, have increased.

–  We have already clearly seized more pregabalin and clonazepam in the beginning of the year than in all of 2023. The growth has been explosive for both these medicines, and the seizures of alprazolam are also increasing considerably. In addition to the tablets, significant amounts of pregabalin in powder form has also been seized. The powder form is not officially classified as a medicinal product, says Sinkkonen.

Changes in the smuggling of medicines may be a sign of a change in drug crimes generally

In addition to the increased use of medicines classified as narcotics, other medicines are also abused for narcotic purposes.  The sentences for medicine-related offences are much lighter than the sentences for offences related to drugs or narcotic medicines.

–  The illegal import of narcotic medicines has increased, but we are also paying attention to the smuggling of other medicines. For example, last year the seizures of ketamine increased notably. Ketamine is classified as medicine and abused for narcotic purposes. This raises concern, says Sinkkonen and continues:

– The final purpose of these narcotics, narcotic medicines and other medicines abused for narcotic purposes is the same, but from a legal point of view and in terms of punishment, they are processed with a very different scope. Offences relating to medicines that have a narcotic effect but that are not classified as narcotics are processed either as medicine offences or smuggling, which means that the coercive measures used in the preliminary investigations are different and the scale of penalties is much lighter than for drug offences.

–  The smuggling of narcotic substances has become very professional. It is possible that the illegal import of medicines may seem to be the more tempting crime in the future, in comparison with the smuggling of so called traditional narcotics and narcotic medicines, says Sinkkonen.