The court in Berlin, room 606. Justin K. stands straight, with folded arms and down their eyes. Slim, dressed in a neat black shirt, 27-year-old does not look like a drug dealer. And yet it is – though in its own way. No street sales, no violence, no laboratory in the yard. No heroin, no cocaine. Justin K. brought Fentanyl. The drug, which in the United States has long led to the death of countless people and ruined the lives of many others. The substance so strong that even Miligram fractions can kill.
For many months, Justin K. traveled pharmacies in Berlin and Hesse with false prescriptionswinning slices intended for seriously ill. 42 packages of 20 slices. Market value: approx. 28 thousand euro (PLN 119 thousand). Some of them were sold. The rest, according to Justin K. in court, gave away to pay off the debts.
Finally, the 27-year-old was sentenced to three years and six months in prison. The judge, according to the newspaper “Berliner Morgenpost”, said she wanted to give “clear signal”.
The most dangerous opioid in the world
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, originally developed for pain treatment50 times stronger than heroin and about 100 times stronger than morphine. In the form of patches, it is mainly used in palliative medicine. According to the American Agency, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), two -thirds of all drug deaths in the United States are related to Fentanyl. In 2023, approx. 107 thousand deaths – more than ever before. In Los Angeles, Philadelphia or Baltimore, people addicted to fentanyl dominate in the city's landscape: rolled up in a ball, in psychosis.
And Germany? “Fentanyl currently plays a subordinate role in the Federal Republic,” says the Federal Criminal Office (BKA). However, from 2023, BKA has not been noted Increase in the number of mixtures of heroin and fentanyl. In addition, deaths associated with synthetic opioids, such as nitazen, often sold on the Internet as “research chemicals” have intensified.
Fentanyl is also the subject of interest in customs services. Although no significant confiscation was recorded in the years 2023 and 2024, almost 266 g of powder was confiscated in 2019, and in 2021 over 400 patches with Fentanyl. Most of the finds came from postal shipments from Canada, Great Britain and the Netherlands. – The German market has no such importance so far as the North American market – says the spokesman of the General Customs Directorate. And yet even the smallest amounts are enough to kill a man.
Prescriptions, pharmacies, hospital waste
What Justin K. did is not an isolated case. Berlin police confirm that Fentanyl goes to the black market mainly in three roads: through false prescriptions, thefts in nursing homes and hospital rubbish. However, the number of registered drug crimes in the form of patches with fentanyl is small. In 2020 – there were 11, in 2024 – 19.
Death data is more eloquent. According to the Berlin police, it has been recorded in the last five years 45 deaths caused by drugs in which the presence of fentanyl was found – most often in combination with other substances such as heroin or benzodiazepine. In individual cases, they were also suicides committed using patches.
According to the services, this number is probably much higher. Fentanyl consumption is not statistically registered, as is its connection with crack, alcohol or tablets. The police in Munich announced that Fentanyl is not a problem in the Bavarian capital, and the troops in Hamburg have recently noted only individual cases of adding fentanyl in heroin samples.
Emmanuele Contini / AFP
A camp of people in the crisis of homelessness in Berlin (illustrative photo)
– Fentanyl reached Germany, but the help system is not prepared for it – says Peter Raiser, director of Deutsche Hauptstelle Fur Suchtfragen (DHS, German addiction headquarters). Disturbing signals are coming from the advisory centers. It is difficult to reach younger consumers who take various substances, many of them have mental problems and do not have a permanent place of residence. “This group often slips through all nets,” explains Raiser.
Specialists beat the alarm
Also in terms of restriction of damage, Germany is not doing well. Although there are programs such as issuing Nalloxone, used on opioid poisoning, drug use rooms, but in many places they have recently been limited. The clinics had to be closed and the funds were limited. “We need more help, not less,” says Raiser.
What to do? The state is harshly chasing prescription fraudsters such as Justin K. Customs Services scan postal items. The Federal Criminal Office warns against the displacement effect – that Fentanyl will replace heroinbecause it is cheaper to produce. And addiction specialists beat the alarm, because there is a lack of help where it is most needed.
Perhaps a wave of drug addiction does not always start with thousands of fatalities. Perhaps it starts in pharmacies, in the printers of doctor's offices, in plastic bags with slices. Perhaps it starts with a man like Justin K., who does not look like a dealer, but he was.
At the end of the trial, Justin K. gets up and listens to the sentence silently. He does not show repentance, does not protest. Only one sentence of his defender remains in memory: “He knew that Fentanyl was not intended for the sick.” And yet he won him.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
