Luxembourg finding more illegal drugs crossing borders

The Grand Duchy’s border authorities seized more illegal drugs last year, with the volume of potentially deadly heroin increasing by a third over 2020, Luxembourg’s Customs and Excise Agency (ADA) reported.

Around 540 grams of heroin was confiscated by the ADA in 2021, nearly 34% more than the previous year. Customs officers also found nearly 32,000g of hashish last year compared to almost 143g of the compressed and processed cannabis substance confiscated in 2020.

The ADA also added new illegal substances to their record-keeping, adding GHB, otherwise known as the date-rape drug, into its new report. Officers confiscated 6,000ml of the depressant, which can become fatal if consumed with alcohol or not dosed accurately, in 2021.

Just over 18,6kg of ketamine, a drug which had not been listed in 2020, has also been seized by Luxembourg authorities. The anesthetic is consumed for recreational purposes because of its trance-like effect and is typically taken at parties.

Testing of drugs for sale in Luxembourg and across the EU have shown that the percentage of cocaine or heroin in the substances sold on the streets is much lower than some ten years ago.

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