Europol announced on Wednesday, January 21, that in its coordinated “Operation Fabryka,” law enforcement agencies across Europe have successfully dismantled a transnational synthetic drug network based in Poland. This marks the largest operation ever conducted by the European Union against synthetic drug crimes.
According to reports from Reuters, prosecutors in Poland revealed that this international criminal network imported chemical precursors from China and India, and operated over 20 illegal laboratories in multiple EU countries to manufacture synthetic drugs. Poland served as the logistical center for the network, primarily responsible for repackaging and distributing chemicals.
The year-long investigation initiated by the Polish police in 2024 expanded into a multinational operation involving Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Spain. From February 2025 to January 2026, law enforcement agencies of various countries carried out over 20 coordinated actions.
The overall results of the operation included the destruction of 24 industrial-scale drug production laboratories, arrest of 85 individuals (including two main leaders of Polish nationality), more than 100 searches conducted, and seizure of around 1000 tons of chemical precursors used in the production of ecstasy (MDMA), amphetamines, and methamphetamines. Authorities estimate that these precursors were capable of producing over 300 tons of synthetic drugs.
Additionally, police also seized 3559 kilograms and 982 liters of various drugs, approximately 500,000 euros in cash, real estate valued at 2.5 million euros, 120,000 liters of toxic chemical waste, and a cannabis cultivation site with over 2000 plants.
During the final coordinated operation on January 16, police conducted 50 residential searches across four European countries and arrested 20 individuals, including 2 high-value targets.
The investigation revealed that the operating structure of this drug network was highly complex. It used seven legal companies in Poland to disguise import and distribution activities. The criminal syndicate legally imported large quantities of chemicals, repackaged them with fake labels, and then transported them to secret drug manufacturing laboratories throughout the EU. The importation quantities of these chemicals far exceeded the legitimate industrial demand in the EU, indicating clear criminal intent.
Andy Kraag, the head of the Organized Crime Department at Europol, stated, “This is the largest operation we have ever undertaken against the production and distribution of synthetic drugs, significantly impacting organized crime.”
European law enforcement agencies pointed out that the toxic waste generated by such drug manufacturing activities poses a serious threat to the environment. The amount of waste produced by synthetic drug labs can reach 5 to 30 times the final product. In this case, thousands of liters of solvents, acids, alkalis, and reaction residues were confiscated.
Illegally dumped, these wastes can rapidly alter the pH levels and oxygen levels of soil and water bodies, killing organisms in the soil and aquatic animals, potentially contaminating groundwater for decades.
Europol stated that to address the threat of synthetic drugs, law enforcement agencies established a dedicated working group at the end of 2024 and may take further action against more suspects in the future. The EU also prioritized combating synthetic drugs as one of the six main areas in the “2026-2030 Drug Trafficking Action Plan” adopted in December 2025.