Not since 2014 have more drugs been seized than last year, a recent report from Kripos shows. After cannabis (hashish and marijuana), which together account for 40 percent of seizures in Norway, cocaine is the second most commonly used narcotic in Europe. It is also felt here in Norway, where the number of cocaine seizures has increased by a whopping 29 per cent in 2023. Cocaine wave Cocaine has made up an increasingly large proportion of drug seizures in Norway in recent years. The proportion of seizures has increased from 5 to 10 per cent from 2021 to today. The increase is largely due to more record seizures. In 2023, more cocaine was seized than in the period 2000 to 2022. Among other things, several large cocaine seizures were made at the warehouse of the fruit and vegetable supplier Bama in Oslo. On two occasions, 712 and 803 kilograms of cocaine were found, among other things. The latter is the largest cocaine seizure in Norwegian history. In addition, the police found 150 kilograms of cocaine on a ship in Husnes in Vestland in April last year. Figures from the Institute of Public Health show increasing use of cocaine in Norway. 4.7 per cent of those aged between 16 and 30 stated having used cocaine in the past year. In 2013, 2.2 percent said the same. Synthetic opioids and pharmaceuticals In 2022, synthetic opioids in the nitazene group were seized in Norway for the first time. The substances in this group are very powerful, in fact from ten to times more powerful than morphine. Several overdoses and overdose deaths have been linked to nitazenes in the last two years, and there is every reason to warn against the use of these substances. While there were four seizures of nitazenes in Norway in 2022, there have been 14 seizures in 2023. There has also been a marked increase in the amount of benzodiazepines seized in recent years. Benzodiazepines are a group of drugs, most of which are addictive, and can be enhanced by other psychoactive drugs, drugs and alcohol. In 2023, 1.65 million tablets of benzodiazepines were seized in 2,902 seizures. There are 17 per cent more seizures than in 2022. Ketamine and MDMA Over the past few years, the anesthetic drug ketamine has been seized more frequently and in larger quantities than before. In 2023, 43 kilograms of ketamine were seized, compared to 3.9 kilograms in 2019. Reports also show an increase in the number of seizures and relatively large quantities of ketamine powder in Europe. This may indicate that the substance is stably available and may have become an established drug in certain environments. Ketamine is often referred to as “horse drug” because it is used as a sedative or anesthetic for animals. Never before have such large quantities of MDMA powder been seized. After two years of declining seizures, there are 13 percent more MDMA seizures in 2023 than the previous year.
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Narcotics statistics 2023 – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
