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INTERPOL said it has seized 650 tonnes of drugs, precursors and pharmaceutical products capable of producing 89.6 million fatal doses in a major transnational operation targeting the synthetic drug market.
The operation, codenamed Operation Lionfish-Mayag IV, was conducted between May 18 and June 4, 2026, and involved 7,247 seizures with an estimated street value exceeding $1.1 billion, INTERPOL said in a statement published on its website on Monday.
According to the global police body, 17 countries participated in the INTERPOL-led initiative, which targeted drug manufacturing and supply chains in Southeast Asia, transit corridors and consumer markets.
INTERPOL said 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.
The organisation disclosed that approximately 8.2 tonnes of methamphetamine and Ya Ba were seized during the operation, representing 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 volume, with 17 tonnes seized, representing about 40 per cent of total estimated value.
It attributed the shift to a global pattern of increasing non-medical ketamine use, driven in part by lower prices and easier manufacturing compared to other drugs, adding that 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,” INTERPOL stated.
It said 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 anaesthetic that has emerged in some markets, particularly in Asia, as a recreational drug consumed through vapes.
INTERPOL said authorities in Australia and the United States intercepted large volumes of low-weight parcels concealed through false or misleading customs declarations and disguised commercial packaging. Australian officials described a steady stream of small parcels containing ketamine and cocaine dispatched from Europe, while US officials recorded near-daily interceptions of parcels of the hallucinogen dimethyltryptamine, DMT, from the same region, indicating Europe is being used as a secondary repackaging and re-export hub.
The operation resulted in 724kg of DMT seizures, the largest quantity of DMT ever reported in a police operation. The drug, seized in liquid form and intended for use in vapes, is usually seized in small quantities, suggesting a developing market in hallucinogens via vaping.
Director of Organized and Emerging Crime at INTERPOL, David Caunter, 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.”
INTERPOL said while opioids comprised a fraction of total seizure volume — 7.3 tonnes valued at $12m — they carried a vastly disproportionate share of the fatal dose burden, driven by fentanyl, which accounts for 63.7 million fatal doses.
It cited a major case in Malaysia where authorities raided an active, fully equipped laboratory producing fentanyl and seized precursors as well as finished liquid and powder fentanyl, the first seizure of its kind in the country.
The organization added that a previously undocumented South America-to-China maritime trafficking route was uncovered, with Chinese authorities seizing 307kg of cocaine from South America via sea transportation, bypassing traditional trans-Atlantic corridors.
Operation Lionfish-Mayag IV was funded by the Korean National Police Agency.
Participating countries were Australia, Cambodia, China, Czechia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
