United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for Afghanistan, Central Asia, Iran and Pakistan held an online launch of the World Drug Report 2025 on 27 June 2025 to coincide with the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking observed annually on 26 June.

Mr. Oliver Stolpe, Head of the UNODC Regional Office, representatives of competent authorities of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and international experts joined the event.

Ms. Salomé Flores, Head of the Information Centre for Researching and Analyzing Transnational Threats Related to Drugs and Crime, presented key points of the World Drug Report 2025 and briefed participants on the global and regional drug situation dynamics.

Experts of the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre (CARICC) made a detailed report on drug situation in the region, providing analytical data on the following areas:

Main figures on drug crime;

Structure of seizures of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors in 2024 and the first quarter of 2025.

Special attention was paid to the growing spread of synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances (NPS). In this regards, participants also received a presentation on current direction of CARICC work related to assessment of feasibility of establishing a pilot regional early warning system to monitor threats related to synthetic drugs.

Establishment of this system will allow:

Increase preparedness of law enforcement and specialized agencies to respond to changes in drug situation;

Assist in development of effective, evidence-based and rapid responses;

Strengthen cooperation among countries in the region to share information and respond to new challenges.

Evaluating relevant trends of drug situation development in Central Asia participants underscored necessity to boost effectiveness of CARICC activities as a key mechanism for regional security and coordination of efforts in combating transnational drug threat.