Trapped by Fentanyl: Who Controls the Trafficking Network and Is There a Way Out for Those Addicted?

In July alone, four investigations were launched in Varna into the possession of fentanyl with intent to supply. During the operations, police seized a total of nearly 104 grams of the substance.

The Black Sea city unexpectedly became the epicentre of Bulgaria's emerging synthetic drug crisis three years ago, when the first fentanyl-related deaths were recorded.

Today, local residents remain concerned about the dangerous drug. People who have used fentanyl describe queues of addicts and dealer schemes designed to recruit new customers.

Illicit Fentanyl Crackdown: Dismantled Lab Was Supplying the Entire Country (OVERVIEW)

For this man, the first dose of fentanyl quickly turned from an embrace into an iron grip.

"For me, it's the most horrific drug. The first time I tried fentanyl, I collapsed. I was lucky—I opened my eyes again. I had no idea what was happening around me."

After that first dose, his brush with death continued. He began obtaining the opioid from friends and street dealers. People queued for doses.

"I've seen 30 or 40 people gathered in one place. They had some kind of bonus system. If you brought in a certain number of people, you got a reward. They used me as a new customer just so they could tell the dealer, 'Here's a new guy, we're getting him hooked,' and then the dealer would give them extra. It wasn't every day. The locations changed every few hours. More than a dozen people I knew have died. It just happens."

The silent epidemic of addiction began in Varna in 2023, following a series of fatal overdoses. Today, parents living in one of the city's neighbourhoods say they remain fearful.

"Three people were heating substances in a spoon underneath the children's playground slide."

"I see them from above. I hide because they start throwing things at the windows."

Analysis suggests that fentanyl trafficking does not rely on large shipments of finished drugs, but on highly sophisticated and deeply clandestine logistics.

Tihomir Bezlov, Centre for the Study of Democracy:"Why did fentanyl appear? According to most observers, because heroin disappeared. In 2023 there was a huge shortage of heroin, and there has always been the theory that, when heroin is unavailable, there will be an attempt to replace it with synthetic opioids. That is exactly what happened in Bulgaria."

Commissioner Prof. Ilin Savov, Vice-Rector of the Ministry of the Interior Academy:"This is the drug of the uninformed. People have no understanding of how it affects them or how harmful and dangerous it is."

According to analysts, global trafficking trends are being driven by Mexican drug cartels.

Tihomir Bezlov, Centre for the Study of Democracy:"One theory is that the Mexican cartels are exporting to Europe. There have been containers carrying fentanyl that were intercepted."

In Europe, the cartels operate through hybrid networks of local criminal syndicates. Rather than risk transporting the finished product, they order chemical precursors and raw materials from laboratories in China and India. The substances are disguised as industrial chemicals, cleaning products or legitimate pharmaceutical ingredients. Cryptocurrencies are used to pay for raw materials and launder millions.

Commissioner Prof. Ilin Savov, Vice-Rector of the Ministry of the Interior Academy:"Increasingly, drug cartels are using the digital environment to obtain these precursor chemicals because it makes them much harder to trace. In the digital age, crime is evolving. Without high-level financial cyber intelligence, it is extremely difficult to identify those responsible and their accomplices."

The dark web is also used to purchase not only precursor chemicals but production formulas originating from China and India.

Commissioner Prof. Ilin Savov, Vice-Rector of the Ministry of the Interior Academy: "Artificial intelligence is accelerating this form of digital crime. Together with automated bot systems, it enables increasingly sophisticated forms of criminal activity. Children are also being targeted through the marketing of fentanyl. Many of the apps they install, the forums where they exchange information, and the chat platforms and applications they download frequently promote so-called entertainment in the form of taking certain substances that are presented as a way to help them relax or feel happier."

Across Europe, just over 150 confirmed deaths linked to fentanyl are recorded each year.