The Dutch seize a large shipment of the main ingredient of fentanyl

AMSTERDAM – Dutch prosecutors said Monday they had seized 25 kilograms (55.12 pounds) of an ingredient crucial to the production of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be lethal even in small doses.

Police last Tuesday found the shipment of N-boc-4-piperidone, a pale powder that is a central ingredient in fentanyl, prosecutors said in a statement.

It was unclear where the chemicals were headed, but there was no indication they were intended for pharmaceutical use, they added.

The statement did not say where the seizure took place and prosecutors did not respond to an immediate request for comment.

A rough calculation showed the amount seized would be enough to manufacture more than 15 million 2-milligram doses of fentanyl, according to prosecutors.

Fentanyl is the leading cause of death among Americans ages 18 to 45, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Last year, nearly 75,000 people in the United States died from overdoses of synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, according to government figures.

Several European countries have also recently reported an increase in deaths from the use of synthetic opioids, Dutch drug center Trimbos reported in October. REUTERS