€1 billion worth of smuggled tramadol pills destroyed by local authorities

The synthetic opioid pills were destroyed in a joint operation involving the Maltese customs department and police force together with the US Drug Enforcement Agency

The Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that some 215 metric tons of Tramadol pills had been seized and destroyed in an operation involving the US Drug Enforcement Agency
The Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that some 215 metric tons of Tramadol pills had been seized and destroyed in an operation involving the US Drug Enforcement Agency

€1 billion in smuggled tramadol pills were seized and destroyed in a joint Malta-US operation, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

In a statement the ministry said the pills had been seized in an operation involving the ministry, the Maltese customs department and the police force, as well as the US Drug Enforcement Agency and the US Embassy in Malta.

A total of 215 metric tons of illegally smuggled pills were destroyed.

The ministry said that the drug – a synthetic opioid – is known to be trafficked by terrorist groups to generate revenue. It said the Sanctions Monitoring Board within the ministry had ordered to seizure of the pills in line with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions, calling on the international community to prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist groups.

“The ministry remains committed to cooperating with its international partners to prevent crime and to eliminate sources of terrorist financing,” the ministry said.

It added that Foreign Minister Carmelo Abela commended the Malta Customs Department and the United States for their work seizing and destroying the shipments “being used by criminal networks to generate funding for terrorist groups.