Trend data on seizures suggest that the trafficking in (and misuse of) pharmaceutical opioids increased strongly over the last decade, reaching record levels in 2024.

• The largest volumes of pharmaceutical opioids were seized in Africa (60 per cent – mostly in West and Central Africa) and Asia (33 per cent – mostly in South Asia) between 2020–2024.
• In terms of volume, global seizures of pharmaceutical opioids were dominated by codeine, followed by tramadol and fentanyl between 2020–2024. These three substances accounted for close to 80 per cent of the quantity of all pharmaceutical opioids seized.
• Adjusted for purity and expressed in daily doses, fentanyl and carfentanil dominated between 2020–2024 – representing around 84 per cent of all pharmaceutical opioids seized over this five-year period.