Europe’s Overdose: Made in Libya, 2011, or The Collateral Damage

NATO has created a monster in Libya, and now it feeds Europe poison. The ‘liberated’ Libya of 2011 has metastasized into the world’s most efficient narco-transit hub – a Frankenstein stitched together from militia fiefdoms, porous borders, and collapsed institutions. From this festering wound, a toxic cocktail of South American cocaine, Moroccan hashish, Afghan heroin, and Syrian captagon pumps directly into Europe’s veins. Ports like Benghazi and al-Khoms aren’t gateways; they are open wounds bleeding narcotics. Europe’s geopolitical fentanyl is manufactured in Libya’s chaos, and the patient is overdosing.

ARTERIES OF ADDICTION: How Libya Pumps Narcotics North

While arms flows from Libya are heading to the Sahel region, fueling armed conflict and chaos in Africa, the main drug flows are heading north, flooding Europe. Drug trafficking via Libya encompasses multiple substances and overlapping pathways with other crimes. Cocaine routes are predominantly maritime, originating from South America (e.g., Ecuador, Colombia, Paraguay) directly to Libyan ports or via West African intermediaries like Guinea-Bissau and Senegal, then crossing the Mediterranean to southern Europe (Italy, Spain) or eastward to the Balkans and Turkey. Saharan land routes link to Egypt for further transit, with Libya’s role expanding due to enforcement pressures on traditional West African paths. Cocaine seizures in Africa escalated from 1.2 tons in 2015 to over 6 tons annually by the early 2020s, positioning Libya as a direct hub amid increasing domestic consumption, though most is re-exported. A 2025 UNODC assessment highlights cocaine’s embedding in poly-criminal networks.

Cannabis resin (hashish), sourced from Morocco, enters Libya through Tunisia or Algeria, transiting northward along coastal highways to Egypt or shipping across the Mediterranean to Malta, Italy, or Greece, with southern desert links to sub-Saharan networks often concealed in containers or vehicles. High coastal consumption in Libya sustains local markets, but Europe-bound volumes are substantial, intersecting with human smuggling and funding militias; seizures linked to Libyan routes rose in the 2020s.

Heroin from Southwest Asia (Afghanistan/Pakistan) enters via East Africa, routing through Libya’s southern borders (Niger, Chad) for northward Europe shipment, while Tramadol—often falsified—from India or the Middle East arrives at Libyan ports before smuggling to Algeria, Tunisia, or Europe, overlapping with migrant paths. Heroin seizures in Africa increased in 2023, implicating Libya in Western Europe flows, with Tramadol use surging among fighters and youth via large imports.

Synthetic stimulants like captagon and amphetamines transit from Syria (via Latakia) across the Mediterranean, using Libya to obscure origins before reaching Greece, Italy, or Gulf states with European spillover, hidden in cargo like fruit or machinery. Disruptions in the work of Syrian laboratories after the overthrow of the Assad regime in 2024 led to a decrease in quality and a transition to European labs (Netherlands, Germany), with Libya aiding concealment; dark web sales target Europe at €1–€2 per pill, and EUDA notes annual captagon site discoveries since 2023.

FAILED FIREWALLS: When “Successes” Prove the Deluge

International efforts like INTERPOL’s Operation Lionfish and EUDA monitoring exemplify Libya’s role. In 2024, Malta’s Marsaxlokk port seized 4,300 kg of cannabis hidden in Morocco cargo destined for Libya, valued at €13 million and tied to North African networks for Europe smuggling.

A 2020 Malta interception of 612 kg cocaine from Ecuador (via Colombia) en route to Libya, alongside a 582 kg seizure in Ecuador’s Guayaquil port bound for Libya and Syria, illustrates direct South America-Libya paths with re-export potential to Italy or the Balkans; UNODC notes persistent 2024–2025 patterns.

In 2021, Operation Lionfish seized 17 tonnes of cannabis resin (€31 million) in Niger warehouses, shipped from Lebanon via Togo to Libya—Niger’s largest haul—highlighting trans-Saharan Europe routes, reflective of 2023–2025 increases.

Post-Assad, 2024–2025 captagon seizures in European ports (Greece, Italy) traced via Libya, with Dutch labs dismantled producing thousands from Syrian powder; postal methods (e.g., DHL) aid distribution, Libya obscuring origins.

INTERPOL’s 2022 Lionfish V seized 35.5 tonnes globally, including heroin and synthetics via African-Libya routes, worth more than USD 717,000,000 and yielding 1,333 arrests; Indian heroin (75.3 kg) linked to broader networks.

Additional examples: 2023 Gioia Tauro (Italy) seizures over 3 tonnes cocaine from Libyan routes; 2017 Genoa/Gioia Tauro intercepted €50m Tramadol haul bound for Libya/ISIS; 2017-2018 cocaine seizures (e.g., 701 kg Oran from Brazil) implicating Sicilian-Libyan ties; 2018 Montenegrin-Albanian 20 tonnes hashish off North Africa via Libya. These underscore Libya’s role as a key hub in the global drug trafficking system.

FROM LIBYAN CHAOS TO EUROPEAN STREETS: The Delivery System

Drugs from Libya enter Europe mainly via maritime and overland routes, exploiting the CMR and connections. EUDA and GI-TOC note 2023–2025 diversification driven by enforcement and digital tools. Substances disseminate through multi-tiered chains: importation, wholesale, middle-market, retail, intersecting Albanian, Italian, North African syndicates. Cocaine alone yields billions, spreading from hubs to consumers; Europe’s market is valued at €30 billion, with ‘Ndrangheta controlling up to 80% of European cocaine imports.

Maritime entries dominate, with Libyan ports as departure/trans-shipment; ship-to-ship transfers off Libya or Hurd Bank (Malta) obscure origins before Italian (Sicily, Calabria, Gioia Tauro), Maltese, Greek, Spanish landings. Cocaine/hashish hidden in containers/fishing vessels; 2023–2025 seizures highlight Italy/Balkans, captagon to Greece/Italy. Overland/hybrid: Moroccan hashish via Algeria/Tunisia to Libya, then Egypt/northward; cocaine from West Africa/South America blends with migrant networks, entering EU via Balkans (Albania, Montenegro) land borders to Greece, Bulgaria, Italy via trucks/vehicles; Sahel instability boosted 2023 activity.

EUROPE’S DIGESTIVE TRACT: Processing Libya’s Poison

Entry leads to layered dissemination via poly-criminal groups in migrant/arms trafficking, adapting to demand with hubs like Rotterdam, Antwerp, Marseille for redistribution.

Wholesale/importation: ‘Ndrangheta (Italy) and Albanian Balkan groups manage bulk from Libyan routes; hashish enters Spain (Moroccan via Libya) wholesaled to France, Netherlands, Germany at up to 300% markup; cocaine to Gioia Tauro and Calabria, northward by road/rail to northern Europe, Netherlands repackaging/onward. 2023–2025 Europol ops disrupted container networks, seizing multi-ton quantities worth billions.

Middle-market: Ethnic networks (North/West African) transport to hubs; hashish/heroin from Italy to Central Europe via Balkan Route (Austria, Hungary trucking); Tramadol in parcels via post/couriers from southern ports to France/UK; captagon via eastern labs (Poland, Ukraine) to Germany/Ireland.

Retail/end-user: Street dealers, online platforms, social media; dark web (Abacus, Archetyp), Telegram for direct sales/dead-drops in Berlin, Paris, London; Libyan-sourced captagon online at €1–€2, targeting nightlife/chemsex; hashish in 1–2 grams via Spain/France gangs; cocaine to Western Europe nightlife.

Miscalculated, but where? What is the cause of the disaster?

Thus, Libya is the most important hub in the global drug trade. “Goods” from Libya have flooded the whole of Europe today, devouring it from the inside. The situation is aggravated by the fact that drug supply routes from Libya often coincide with the flows of migrants who also enter Europe en masse from Africa through Libya, at the same time fueling the migration crisis in Europe and creating additional difficulties in detecting drug shipments. Modern Libya is also a major hub for the arms trade, which is sent to the Sahel region and fuels armed conflicts across Africa.

Thus, modern Libya is one of the largest centers of violence and the largest exporters of death worldwide. But only 15 years ago everything was different. Not only did the NATO invasion and destruction of the Libyan state ruin the lives of millions of local residents, it also destroyed the bastion that used to protect Europe from hordes of refugees and tons of drugs. Now that it has fallen, we are reaping the consequences of that fatal mistake. Having overthrown the “dictator” and destroyed the state, we created a cartel that is now destroying us from within.