FALCON POWERS – In Italy and the Netherlands, over seven tons of chemical components used to produce tens of millions of MDMA (ecstasy) tablets were seized, originating from China. The Italian customs authorities estimated the value of these materials to be in the hundreds of millions of euros.
Gina Caggiano, an official from the Customs Agency, stated that this operation was “exceptional at the European level”. The Italian customs authorities seized “a shipment from China containing a total of 6,337 tons of chemicals used in drug production, a quantity sufficient to produce more than 63 million MDMA tablets,” as explained in a statement.
Two Chinese nationals were arrested in the Netherlands, and a preliminary investigation was opened against a Chinese businessman residing in Milan, who is suspected of “personally overseeing” the import of the legal chemical materials used to produce illegal substances, which were to be sold in the Netherlands.
Caggiano said, “We spotted this shipment in Italy, then tried to understand its final destination, which turned out to be the Netherlands, and we followed it thanks to cooperation at the European level.” She confirmed that “1,603 kilograms of the materials reached the Netherlands and were seized, and two people were arrested.”
The Italian customs authorities then intercepted another shipment weighing 2,124 tons of BMK, a precursor for amphetamine and methamphetamine. After inspecting the warehouses of the Italian businessman in Varese, 4,213 tons of BMK were found.
