Seizures of amphetamine-type substances (ATS) in Europe are rising, with methamphetamine increasingly overtaking amphetamine.

• Seizures of ATS have increased strongly in Europe over the last decade, with growth reported for methamphetamine, amphetamine, “ecstasy” and non-specified and other ATS (which also includes various internationally controlled cathinones).
• Regional patterns remain distinct: amphetamine is mostly seized in Western and Central Europe, methamphetamine in South-Eastern Europe while most of the other ATS (often linked to cathinones) are reportedly seized in Eastern Europe.
• Methamphetamine seizures have exceeded amphetamine seizures in Europe since 2021 – largely driven by seizures made in Türkiye (75 per cent of all methamphetamine seizures in Europe in 2024) – although most European countries (63 per cent) still report larger amphetamine seizures overall. In Türkiye, methamphetamine has recently become the foremost drug of concern, overtaking heroin and “captagon” in terms of treatment provision as well as seizures. The Kingdom of the Netherlands and Belgium – major “traditional” amphetamine producing countries in Europe – also reported more methamphetamine than amphetamine seizures in 2024.
• Except methamphetamine seized in Türkiye (largely originating from South-West Asia), most of the other ATS trafficked and consumed in Europe appears to have been manufactured in clandestine laboratories across Europe.
• Seizures of “captagon” in Europe have fallen after 2020, with Europe typically acting primarily as a trans-shipment location for production taking place in the Middle East (Syrian Arab Republic and Lebanon) to final destination markets also in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States).