Cocaine crisis in Bavaria: Availability and consumption are increasing rapidly!

Cocaine crisis in Bavaria: Availability and consumption are increasing rapidly!

The drug problem in Bavaria is reaching alarming proportions. According to current reports from the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA), the availability of cocaine has “increased extraordinarily” in recent years. This is also reflected in the numbers: 3,972 cocaine-related offenses were recorded in 2024, a sharp increase compared to the 3,638 cases in 2023 and 2,560 in 2022. Apparently the police suspect that the number of users has also increased, while cocaine has been the second most common cause of deaths from drug abuse in Bavaria for three years.

A noticeable trend is the movement of drug trafficking online. This makes drug use easier and more convenient for many people. The LKA emphasizes that fighting crime in the digital space is difficult, but not impossible. Representatives of police, prosecutors and customs from 20 countries come together to an international conference led by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In addition to cocaine, the focus there is also on online drug trafficking and the challenges posed by synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.

The threat of synthetic opioids

According to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), synthetic opioids are increasingly responsible for overdoses. The INCB's annual report shows that drug traffickers are increasingly using social media and legal online platforms to market their products - a real challenge for the fight against drugs. Jallal Toufiq, President of the INCB, calls for close cooperation between governments and the private sector to combat online drug trafficking more effectively.

The dangers posed by illegal online pharmacies are also alarming: they sell medicines without a prescription and thus endanger patient safety. Although there are opportunities to use social media for prevention campaigns, illegal drug trafficking is a serious problem. Encryption technologies and anonymous surfing on the dark web make it difficult to track and investigate such activities.

International challenges and opportunities

The beginnings of this development lie deep; The global trade in illegal drugs is estimated at $4.4 billion. There are inequalities in access to legitimate painkillers in many regions, and illegal cultivation of drug crops, such as the coca plant in Colombia and Peru, has reached record levels. In addition, a bottleneck in the availability of heroin due to restrictions on opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is making synthetic opioids such as fentanyl more attractive.

The challenges facing Bavarian and international law enforcement authorities in particular are high. But with international cooperation and the right tools, there are opportunities to combat online drug trafficking and carry out prevention work at the same time. We have to face reality: the drug market is changing, and with it the strategies to get it under control.

According to information from the LKA, the increase in cocaine availability in Bavaria applies not only to the city centers, but also increasingly to rural regions, where drug trafficking via click on the Internet is becoming increasingly important. However, the police remain optimistic and make it clear that they are taking this challenge seriously and are actively working to unmask the people and networks behind this trade.