The mafia isn’t keeping fentanyl out of Europe – the lack of demand is
The mafia isn’t keeping fentanyl out of Europe – the lack of demand is
Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are still the single biggest driver of overdose deaths in the US. They were involved in around 38,000 of the roughly 70,000 deaths recorded in 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Europe’s figures are of a different order. In 16 countries that reported data, fentanyl and its derivatives were linked to a total of around 210 drug-induced deaths in 2024, up from about 130 in 2023. Most of that rise may involve medicines rather than illicitly made fentanyl.
Other potent synthetic opioids, notably nitazenes, have driven recent peaks in deaths in several countries. In Italy, the government’s latest report on addiction counted only five fentanyl-related deaths in 2025.
This gap has prompted a striking explanation: that Italy’s mafias, wary of a drug that kills their customers and draws police attention, have chosen to keep fentanyl out. (The Conversation, Frankreich, 16.10.2026)