New forms of synthetic illicit opioids are flooding the European fake medicines market, contributing to record numbers of drug-related deaths on the continent last year.

The EU Drugs Agency warned on Tuesday of the growing availability of these chemicals, such as nitazenes and orphines, particularly in Baltic countries. These substances are highly dangerous — often as potent as cancer pain medication fentanyl, which is more than 50 times stronger than opium.

In 2024, Europe seized more than 50,000 nitazene-containing fake medicine tablets from 10 countries, up from 23,000 in 2023 and 380 in 2022. In total, it seized over 34 kilograms of synthetic opioids.