AI in the service of drug cartels

Drug gangs are using technological advances in artificial intelligence and other areas to produce more potent substances and better evade detection, warned Loren Nolan, director of the EU Drugs Agency.

Nolan said in an interview with the Financial Times that the market for illegal substances is changing rapidly, with traffickers creating new chemicals and using sophisticated smuggling methods to conceal contraband.

Her comments suggest that the illegal drug industry is taking advantage of easier access to equipment such as smuggling drones and digital capabilities, including illegal online chemical markets. Machine learning-enhanced chemical synthesis methods that help pharmaceutical companies can also be exploited by international criminal groups.

“Technology is now one of the key drivers enabling the rapid evolution of the European drug market,” Nolan told the FT, adding that this includes contributing to illicit production.

The variety of illegal substances sold on Europe's streets is becoming "increasingly unpredictable" as previously unseen products emerge, said Nolan, whose agency published its annual European Drug Report yesterday. She said Europe is seeing increased smuggling and is also becoming "a hub for synthetic production."

Between 2014 and 2024, the quantities of drugs seized in the EU increased sharply, including methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA, amphetamine and marijuana.

New psychoactive substances, such as powerful synthetic opioids, were detected for the first time last year at a rate of about one per week, according to the report, which includes data from 27 EU countries, Norway and Turkey. The amount of substances seized reached a record level in 2024.

Vapes containing drugs, including synthetic and semi-synthetic forms of cannabis, have been seized in EU member states, fuelling fears that they could be used as a way to introduce other harmful substances.

Nolan said artificial intelligence could help design illegal substances in a similar way to how pharmaceutical companies use it to predict possible molecular structures that would have certain therapeutic effects.

"It absolutely can be used when it comes to designer chemistry and the production of illegal drugs." "When you look at the technological momentum in the pharmaceutical field and how it's accelerating the discovery of new drugs, the exact same principle applies on the illegal side."

However, new technologies, including artificial intelligence, could contribute to health and social responses to illegal drugs through “earlier detection of new harms, tailored interventions and access to services,” Nolan added.

The International Narcotics Control Board, which monitors the implementation of the UN drug control conventions, warned last year that the rapid spread of illegal synthetic drugs was "a deadly problem that poses a serious threat to public health."