Europeans buy drugs for € 30 billion every year

The two agencies have worked together to provide an overview of the European illicit drug market.

The new report presented on Tuesday addresses trends along the supply chain - from manufacturing and trading to distribution and sales.

According to the report, Europeans spend at least € 30 billion on drugs every year. This corresponds to just under a third of a Swedish state budget.

This makes drugs a significant source of income for criminal organizations in the EU.

The EU Drugs Agency and Europol estimate that cannabis comprises around 39 percent of the drug market. 31 percent are cocaine, 25 percent are heroin and 5 percent amphetamines and MDMA (ecstasy).

Sweden is mentioned 73 times in the report on 260 pages.

Sweden, Denmark and Iceland are recognized as countries with an open drug market in social media - primarily Facebook and Instagram. The drug market in social media and apps is characterized by "high availability that makes trade between strangers possible".

The report also highlights the high number of deaths in Sweden that can be linked to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid used in the pain care industry. According to the report, 300 out of 370 such deaths in Sweden can be traced back to online trading.

In some cities in Sweden (Stockholm, Gothenburg and Uppsala), criminal gangs have recruited unaccompanied asylum seekers or children whose asylum applications have been refused - especially young Afghan men - to sell drugs.

Criminal gangs usually force them to join in with threats and violence. Many of the children involved in drug addiction live on the street, which makes them even more vulnerable and vulnerable to recruitment, says the EU Drugs Agency and Europol.

About 20 members of a Swedish criminal group known as the Death Patrol - targeted at contract killings on behalf of drug addicts - were arrested in concerted operations in Sweden and Spain between December 2018 and February 2019.

All arrested are young Swedes between 20 and 30 years. They are suspected of being responsible for torture and murder of at least 15 people in Sweden and Spain since 2016, according to the EU Drugs Agency and Europol.