The Interpol announced one of the largest synthetic drug seizures in the history on Tuesday. The international police organisation said its coordinated operation has resulted in seizure of 76 tonnes of narcotics worth $6.5 billion in merely two weeks. Operation Lionfish-Mayag III ran from June 30 to July 13 across 18 countries, including India.
According to Interpol, a total of 76 tonnes of drugs were intercepted, including 51 tonnes of methamphetamine — highlighted by a record 297 million meth pills, known as yaba, along with fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and chemical precursors. The fentanyl seized reportedly had the potential to kill 151 million people.
Interpol identified India as the country where the largest share of fentanyl was intercepted. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid similar to morphine and heroin, is fully laboratory-produced and contains no natural ingredients. While it is legally approved for use as a painkiller, much of the fentanyl linked to the global overdose crisis is produced illegally. While fentanyl remains a major concern, authorities are seeing a rise in nitazenes, highly potent synthetic opioids with up to 200 times the potency of morphine.
Small amounts are enough to be deadly, making them more profitable, easier to transport and increasingly difficult to detect. Interpol noted that most of the fentanyl seized during the operation was manufactured unlawfully in India.
Officials reported that traffickers had attempted to conceal narcotics inside surfboards, tea boxes, cat food packets and espresso machines to evade detection.
In India, authorities from the Narcotics Control Bureau dismantled a top Darknet drug syndicate known as "Ketamelon", the Interpol said. The operation resulted in the seizure of LSD blots and ketamine, as well as digital assets valued at approximately $87,000. Investigations revealed the vendor was responsible for more than 600 drug shipments in the past 14 months.
Authorities in Myanmar intercepted two suspicious vehicles, one carrying 22kg of heroin hidden behind pineapples, and the other containing 5.25 million yaba pills. Investigations traced both shipments to the same person and a subsequent house search led to the seizure of an additional 4 million pills.
Across the operation, authorities seized vehicles, properties, weapons, mobile phones and drug manufacturing equipment, the Interpol said. In Lao PDR, this included 3.9 tonnes of methamphetamine and 10 production machines, leading to the arrest of two individuals.
Describing the campaign as "one of the biggest international anti-drug operations ever", Interpol said the bust highlighted both the scale of synthetic drug trafficking and the urgent need for cross-border enforcement.