SINGAPORE – A law enforcement operation targeting the synthetic drug market, has seized 650 tonnes of drugs, precursors and pharmaceutical products.
During Operation Lionfish-Mayag IV (18 May – 4 June), participating countries conducted 7,247 seizures with an estimated value exceeding USD 1.1 billion. The landmark operation, in terms of seizure volume, represents 89.6 million fatal doses removed from consumer markets.
Seventeen countries participated in the INTERPOL-led initiative, targeting the manufacture and supply chains in Southeast Asia, transit corridors and the consumer markets they serve.
Key trends: Seizures of ketamine soar, new maritime cocaine route identified
Overall, cannabis and cannabinoids accounted for the largest share of the total volume seized — approximately 94 per cent — driven predominantly by four significant seizures in the Philippines. All other substances combined represented 39 tonnes.
Approximately 8.2 tonnes of methamphetamine and Ya Ba were seized throughout the operation, around 16 per cent of the total seizure estimated value. However, for the first time in an INTERPOL operation targeting synthetic drugs, ketamine overtook methamphetamine in terms of volume, with 17 tonnes seized. This represented approximately 40 per cent of total seizure estimated value.
This shift reflects a global pattern of increasing non-medical ketamine use, driven, in part, by lower prices and easier manufacturing compared to other drugs. Ketamine seizure data shows large-scale manufacturing and trafficking in Southeast Asia as well as European-sourced postal supply chains feeding markets in Australia and the United States.
Intelligence gathered during Operation Lionfish-Mayag IV confirms that Southeast Asia, and the Mekong region in particular, remains the epicentre of global synthetic drug manufacturing. Authorities in Myanmar recorded the operation’s single largest individual seizure: a consignment of 10.6 million Ya Ba tablets, a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine.
Indonesia reported seizing 1,975 litres of etomidate, an unusually high volume. Etomidate, traditionally used for anaesthesia, has emerged in some markets — particularly in Asia — as a recreational drug consumed through a vape.
Authorities in both Australia and the United States intercepted large volumes of low-weight parcels, concealed almost entirely through false or misleading customs declarations and disguised commercial packaging, rather than physical concealment.
Australian officials described a steady stream of small parcels containing ketamine and cocaine dispatched from Europe, while their counterparts in the United States recorded near-daily interceptions of parcels of the hallucinogen dimethyltryptamine (DMT) from the same region. These patterns indicate that Europe is used as a secondary repackaging and re-export hub.
Operation Lionfish-Mayag IV resulted in 724 kg of DMT seizures, the largest quantity of DMT ever reported in a police operation. DMT, seized in liquid form and intended for use in vapes, is usually seized in small quantities, suggesting a developing market in hallucinogens via vaping. Other substances, including cannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoids, were also seized in liquid form during the operation.
David Caunter, Director of Organized and Emerging Crime at INTERPOL, said:
“The surge in ketamine seizures and the growth of vape-based drugs such as etomidate and DMT show how rapidly the synthetic drug trade is evolving. No country can see the full picture alone. Criminal networks cross borders and our response must do the same. Drugs devastate lives and communities and the criminals driving this trade are not slowing down. Neither can we.”
While opioids comprised a fraction of total seizure volume — 7.3 tonnes, valued at USD 12 million — they carried a vastly disproportionate share of the operation’s fatal dose burden, driven by fentanyl, which accounts for 63.7 million fatal doses.
In a major case, Malaysian authorities raided an active, fully equipped laboratory producing fentanyl. Police seized a complete set of precursor chemical chemicals as well as finished liquid and powder fentanyl, proving an active production location rather than a transit site. It was the first seizure of its kind in the country, showing that manufacturing locations are diversifying in the region.
A previously undocumented South America-to-China maritime trafficking route was also uncovered during the operation. Chinese authorities reported the seizure of 307 kg of cocaine from South America via sea transportation, bypassing traditional trans-Atlantic corridors and suggesting traffickers are expanding into new Asian destination markets.
Notes to editors
Lionfish-Mayag IV was funded by the Korean National Police Agency.
Participating countries: Australia, Cambodia, China (People’s Republic), Czechia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Laos (PDR), Malaysia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United States of America, and Viet Nam.