In Estonia, synthetic opioids are the cause of every second death from overdose. According to State Prosecutor Raigo Aas, the trade in these substances has been taken over by Latvian criminals, and currently, an astonishing number of drug dealers from Latvia are serving sentences in Estonian prisons, writes Postimees.
Synthetic opioids are delivered to Estonia either by Latvian drug dealers or Estonian criminals bringing substances from Latvia. All large shipments of synthetic opioids in the last three to four years have come specifically from the Republic of Latvia.
"In the last three to four years, we have detained and charged several dozen Latvian criminals involved in drug trafficking. Among them are both citizens of Latvia and residents of Latvia with undefined citizenship. Currently, there are dozens of them in Estonian prisons," said Aas.
The other common drugs that cannot be produced or grown in Estonia come to the country from Central and Western Europe, primarily from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain, as well as from Poland and Germany.
"However, synthetic opioids come here exclusively from Latvia. The cooperation between Estonian and Latvian criminals is undoubtedly facilitated by the short distance. You leave in the morning and, essentially, are already returning by afternoon. This business is also supported by the common linguistic space. Mainly, the trade in synthetic opioids is conducted by Russian-speaking criminals who are, so to speak, on the same wavelength, and there is no misunderstanding due to the language barrier," described the situation the prosecutor.
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