Dutch seize large shipment of core fentanyl ingredient

Dutch prosecutors said on Monday they had seized 25 kilograms (55.12 lb) of a crucial ingredient for the production of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be lethal even in tiny doses.

Police found the shipment of N-boc-4-piperidone, a pale powder that is a core ingredient of fentanyl, last Tuesday, prosecutors said in a statement.

It was unclear where the chemicals were headed, but there was no indication that they were intended for pharmaceutical use, they added.

The statement did not say where the seizure took place and prosecutors did not respond to an immediate request for comment.

A rough calculation showed that the amount seized would be enough to make more than 15 million 2-milligram doses of fentanyl, according to the prosecutors.

Fentanyl is the top killer of Americans aged 18 to 45, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Last year nearly 75,000 people in the U.S. died from overdoses of synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, according to government figures.

Several European countries have recently also reported increasing fatalities from the use of synthetic opioids, Dutch drug expertise centre Trimbos said in October.